A Whisper in the Mind
by kitsieandmeow
Summary: Hinata overhears a terrible secret of Tsunade's. One that Hinata could use to control the Village. Tsunade has been working on a project, and it might be worse than what Orochimaru and the Akaksuki are doing. More of a summary inside...R
1. A Voice Within

Ah, I worked so hard on this! This the first serious story I've written. TT_TT I hope you don't find too drawn out, I was trying to keep the characters in character, use character depth, and such... It would be incredible appreciated if you reviewed, I really really really need to know if I did good on this or not. Also, I need at least 1 review to convince me someone is reading this story and wants to see the next chapter...Please enjoy!

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Summary: Hinata overhears a terrible secret of Tsunade's. One that she could use to control the Village. Tsunade has been working on a project, and it might be worse than what Orochimaru and the Akaksuki are doing.... Hinata wants to keep the village safe, but will her own desires get in the way?

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Shards of glass crunched under Hinata's feet as she quietly slipped through the back gate of Hiruko's Inn. The city's noise was a blur, almost humming in the background. Broken bottles were strewn all over the path, the jagged edges and triangular shards practically glowed in the light of full moon. The sky was dark, even with the bright stars and the moon, and even the lights of the Konoha could not brighten the black sky. Hinata exhaled deeply, a white ghostly cloud flowing forth from her mouth.

She stopped. A sound; a muffled scream from somewhere in dark, a crash. Her heart sped up. The noises of the city seemed to get louder, whispers from the street became roars, and sky twisted and wavered like a sheet of silk. She exhaled again and the city's sounds simply hushed back into a that familiar humming. Hinata began walking again, slightly faster, she was starting to feel unsafe in Konoha.

Each day more people from all over desired the destruction of Konoha. More people, enemies, found their way into Konoha's walls. And the Anbu, did nothing. They were slipping, becoming nothing more than a name the Hokage used to reassure the citizens. Hinata recalled the many times she'd been attacked in broad daylight, inside the city with the Anbu watching.

That's all the Anbu did now, watch. They watched, and reported to Lady Hokage. Lady Hokage did nothing about the rising crime, she just told the citizens it was all under control. Lady Hokage also started acting strange, she was starting to become more and more stressed. Each little thing set her off with an intensity no one had seen before. What was happening to Konoha? Why doesn't Lady Hokage act? Hinata's mind was plagued with these kind of thoughts. She sighed loudly and kept walking.

She followed a narrow path that was almost hidden by the branches of a weeping willow. Down through a small a garden full of white flowers and beneath the full moon, nestled between a few trees that hid other houses from view was her house.

It looked like a little castle, from the roof to the sliding doors to the large porch that wound all around the rather small house. Hinata smiled. If there was one thing she was proud of, it was this house. Having convinced the owner of Hiruko's Inn that having a ninja around would discourage robbers, she managed to get a price that was practically a steal. So for once she had little spending money for cinnamon buns, shinobi gear, or home furnishings.

Hinata, wanting to keep the little home's castle-like appeal, bought several paper lanterns and hung them all over. She had even hand painted a dragon on the sliding doors, that had to be another thing she was proud of since it turned out to look just like the ones on real castles. Inside it was set up to be something like a tatami room with the paper walls. It was one main room and small cramped bathroom, in the back was a very small kitchen. It had built-in shelves which helped with the small space, but Hinata would never be able have a large bed or a TV or anything like that.

Hinata walked into a larger part of the garden that slowly had consumed her yard. She had done very little gardening and yet the white flowers were already everywhere. She found her favorite spot near a small stone lantern and sighed, thinking over what a disaster the day had been. She laid on her back and stared up at the moon. Today had been one of the worst, something that was becoming a trend within Konoha. The day started off bad and it ended even worse.

~First, she ran into Naruto. She just wanted to talk to him a little, she hadn't seen him awhile.

_"Oh, N-naruto-kun. It's been awhile, h-how are you toda-"_

_"Get out of my way! I don't have time for you!"_

Naruto had actually pushed her aside. Hinata was baffled. Naruto has never acted like that before! Was that even the real Naruto?

And then Sakura had glared at her, grabbing Naruto's arm she had told Hinata not to be such a bother. She then led Naruto, who was looking at her with dreamy eyes, away. Hinata's heart pounded hard in her chest. What was that? She clenched her fists. Why did Sakura always do that? Ever since Sasuke had ran away she had clung to Naruto and showered him with attention. And when Hinata tried to speak with him she always intervened.

And then Sai gave her that fake smile, saying Naruto had a bad day, a failed mission, a big argument with Lady Hokage, and something happened out in the forest. His expression was false but somehow his words were sincere. Hinata nodded and headed off to find her teammates, at least her friends would be happy to see her.

At the training grounds Kiba was wrestling with Akamaru, Shino was leaning against a tree letting all sorts of insects crawl on him, and Kurunai-sensei was no where to be seen. Hinata went over to speak with Shino since Kiba was busy doing something that looked suspiciously like he was sniffing Akamaru's butt. Before Hinata even opened her mouth to speak Shino put his hand on her shoulder.

Small black beetles ran down his arm onto her, some climbing up her neck, others fanning out over her back. She suppressed a shudder, not wanting to offend her friend. Shino always spoke calmly, but he seemed overly stoic this time, "Hinata.....Kurunai-sensei wants to talk to you...."

Hinata felt her stomach flip. Shino's bugs retreated and he pulled away, he looked to Kiba. Kiba had stopped whatever he had been doing earlier and sat quietly next to Akamaru, his eyes concerned and his mouth in a prominent frown.

Hinata swallowed and listened to a crunch of leaves and twigs and then felt a gentle hand on her shoulder pulling her away slightly. She followed her sensei a good way's away from her friends. Kurunai looked away, "Hinata, it's just not enough." She said it softly, like she was trying to take away the sting.

It didn't. It was about Hinata's training, her power, more accurately it was her weakness. It was the reason why she was disowned, the reason why she was never given anything more than low ranked missions.

Hinata felt like a freight train had rammed into her stomach and left a gaping hole. She trained all the time. The only moments of rest she allowed herself were so brief, a quick trip to the store, fifteen minutes or so tending the garden, sitting at night staring up at the moon for little. She also trained as hard as she could. And she had improved! She knew she had, she remembered when she was younger, she was so much stronger now.

But it was never enough for the others. They expected her to be like Neji, her father, or Hanabi. Sometimes people seemed to enjoy telling her she was failure. She even had spoken to Lady Hokage about her training. She remembered Lady Hokage's mouth twitching, like she was trying not to laugh as she told her how pathetic and weak she was. How she was behind and holding her team down. Hinata felt like the more she trained, the less people thought of her, the more they told her she was weak.

Hinata couldn't take it. It was happening again, now with Kurunai-sensei, her mouth was twitching at the edges. Even Kurunai-sensei wanted to laugh at her! Hinata's eyes began to sting, a lump formed in her throat, she grabbed her stomach and fell to her knees. Kurunai stood over her, doing nothing.~

Hinata felt her eyes beginning to sting again. Even Kurunai-sensei! Hinata felt betrayed. "What do they want me to do?" She whispered aloud to herself, "What am I doing wrong? Why is it the harder I try the farther I fall?!" She sat up, now wiping tears from her eyes.

"What do I need train? My chakra? My strength? My endurance?" She stared up at moon, tears streaming down her cheeks, "What is it!? Do I need to use some kind of forbidden scroll like Naruto-kun? Do I need someone special to train me? Or am I just to be weak forever? Kami! What do I do?" Hinata was sobbing now, her breathing was shallow and uneven.

A thought slipped into her head. It whispered to her, calming her racing heart and stopping her tears.

_Why don't I just ask them what they want?_

For a split second Hinata imagined herself marching into Lady Hokage's office and demanding that she tell her what she needed to do. What kind of training she needed. Asking why it was never enough. But then a tight feeling closed around Hinata's chest. She couldn't do that. She wasn't that bold. She was also almost afraid to hear what the answer would be.

But then that whisper in her mind spoke again, this time a little louder, her inner voice sounding more confident;

_Then why don't I just find out what they want?_

Again, for barely a second, Hinata thought she could. In her mind she thought she could observe everyone else, listen to what the teachers and Lady Hokage said about them. Then she could see where she was falling behind by comparing them to herself. It was so simple....

Panic gripped Hinata's chest again. She couldn't. _Why not?_ Her inner voice was speaking louder in her mind, no longer whispering. She thought about those words. _Why not? What do I have to lose?_

She sighed, "It won't work,"

_Why not?_

"Because the teachers will judge their students in different ways,"

_So? It still might work._

"I can't do it!"

_Who's stopping me?_

"I can't!"

_Why not?_

Hinata's head was spinning, arguing with herself was confusing, today was confusing. Then she heard herself in her mind again; _ why not?_

She stood up and wiped her eyes. She'd do it. Nothing was going to stop her. Except maybe the panic-y heart attack feeling squeezing the life out of her. She headed inside. She had no missions tomorrow. That would make a good opportunity to watch people. Hinata just hoped that people wouldn't mistake her as a stalker....again.

The next morning-

Hinata was running toward the training grounds, she dodged people on the street and after the streets became too crowded she jumped up onto the roofs. She was practically flying over them, normally she would enjoy this feeling but she was too busy trying not to collapse. She didn't know why but a feeling of absolute dread had taken hold of her and threatened to crush her into bits.

This was something so simple; observe people to see where she was falling behind. Hinata knew this wasn't even something people would care that she was doing, it was something she probably should have been doing all along. But the inane fear she had was killing her. So she ran as fast she could, so that she couldn't turn back or think about what might go wrong. Could anything like that even happen with something like this?

Hinata didn't know. _As long as I don't turn back. _She finally found her way to the training grounds. She stopped to catch her breath, then stumbled over to tall tree and leaned against it. _ I only have to watch, I don't have to talk or do anything else. _Hinata took a few calming deep breaths and activated her byakugan. She thought maybe it would help her see what people did with their chakra.

Tenten was sitting on the ground cheering Neji and Lee on as they spared. Hinata was impressed, she never thought anyone could keep up with Neji's taijutsu but Lee was matching him almost perfectly. She saw with her byakugan the flow of chakra that Neji controlled expertly with the Gentle Fist.

Lee aimed a roundhouse kick at Neji's chest. Neji moved quickly to the side, the kick just about grazing him and shot out his hand toward one of Lee's chakra points. Hinata could see the chakra flow into his hand and form a slight point millimeters away from his fingertips. She thought Neji had hit him but Lee vanished in a whirlwind of leaves. Hinata suddenly felt a chakra signature that was a little too close for comfort. She turned her attention away from the fight and glanced behind her.

It was Sakura. Sakura stared at Hinata with a questioning look on her face.

"What are you doing here?"

Hinata deactivated her byakugan and turned to face her. She thought that was strange question, it was the training grounds, most ninja were here on their days' off.

"I d-don't have a-any m-m-missions today s-so," Hinata stuttered quietly.

Sakura stared at her for a minute, "You're not very strong," she said with an amused tone, "No offense Hinata, but I don't think standing around wishing that you were as good as Neji-san and Lee-san will help you,"

"I-I-I wasn't...I....w-was...I.." Hinata cursed at herself silently, her voice always seemed to fail her at horribly inconvenient times.

Sakura laughed, "Hinata! I still find it hard to believe you actually graduated from the Academy! I mean, even Naruto could do better-"

It was knee-jerk reaction. _SLAP! _Hinata's hand apparently decided it had enough of Sakura and whacked her across the face. Hinata herself was quite surprised, Sakura hadn't even insulted her that badly and the action didn't even register in her mind until after it happened.

_When she said Naruto-kun's name.....I just.... _

Sakura's face had an angry red mark across the cheek. The force from the hit snapped Sakura's head to the side, she just stood there frozen.

_I'm not upset about being compared to Naruto-kun like that, or even called weak....I just.._

Sakura slowly looked back at Hinata and blinked. Her hand trembled with shock as it reached up to feel the stinging red mark on her cheek.

_I just...._

Tenten, Neji, and Lee had stopped to to look them. They had heard the slap and immediately thought Sakura had done it. Hinata's hand was actually still in the air, hovering in front of Sakura's face.

Neji smirked, "So she does have a backbone, sort of.."

Lee blinked his giant eyes, "Why did Hinata-kun just hit Sakura-kun?"

Tenten shrugged, "If I was Hinata I would do it too. Hell, if I had the chance I would do it now."

Lee turned to look at his teammate, "What? Why would you want to hurt Sakura-kun?"

"Sometimes you just have to dislike people like her. Pretty, smart, she even gets special training from Lady Hokage herself! In Hinata's case, when Sakura couldn't have Sasuke she took Naruto."

Neji folded his arms, "Well, all's fair in love and war, or so the cliché goes."

Lee frowned, "I still don't understand."

Neji sighed and patted his friend on the back, "Jealousy, Lee."

"Oh..."

Hinata let her hand fall to the side. Sakura was staring at her.

"Hinata, I.....didn't mean...."

_I just....hate her...._

Hinata's legs suddenly decided that they too had enough of the pink haired kunoichi and walked right passed her in an angry manner. Sakura just watched her as she left, stunned.

"Hinata....I'm sorry...To make you of all people hit me like that, what I said must have really hurt," Sakura mumbled to herself.

Hinata was headed back home. She stopped and looked to the left, she was in front of the Hokage's home. She blinked, she hadn't had a single thought since walking away from Sakura. Now she was here. She walked over to a tree that was near the large wall surrounding the Hokage's house, it was in the corner almost hidden by the wall of another building and it seemed to be a nice private area were Hinata could collapse unseen. She sat down and leaned her back against the tree. Birds chirped above and Konoha felt safer than it had been in sometime for Hinata.

Then she heard footsteps. In slight panic she activated her byakugan and looked around, she still was crouched behind the tree and faced the wall of the Hokage's home. She saw two chakra signatures, strong ones. They had to be ninja. She looked around, no one else with particularly strong signatures. That surprised her, that meant there were no Anbu guarding the Hokage's home.

That's when she heard voices.

"Well, I don't think we'll be heard here.." It was Lady Hokage.

Hinata felt a little silly, _you'll only be heard by me and the birds..._

"Lady Tsunade, what are we going to do?" Shizune asked timidly.

Hinata heard Tsunade groan, "I don't know. This is bad, I can't do anything in this position or my secret will found out. I can't even trust the Anbu!"

"So that's why you sent them away on missions today... Oh Lady Tsunade, we have to do something! At this rate, people will get hurt!"

"I can't do anything Shizune! Not unless we want people to find out about Project Nine!" Tsunade snapped.

Hinata's ears perked up, this sounded strange.

"L-Lady Tsunade....A-a-about Project Nine..." Shizune whispered.

"What?"

"Hitomi, Tsukiko, and Sayuri escaped. They are thought to be somewhere in the forest."

"What about the oldest one? Yodo?"

"Still in the Eastern Facility. The others are in the Southern. Well, except Nobuyuki. He's been so much trouble, he's absolutely insane! I don't understand why you think-"

"We'll sort it out later. Naruto is still in my office, no doubt giving the guards a hard time. Lets go before he decides to follow us."

"But Lady Tsunade, what will we do?"

"I don't know, at the moment I don't give a damn about the village. We need Project Nine to work so we can kill Orochimaru, and defeat the Akatsuki. I don't what would happen if people found out about what we're doing to them. I would do anything to keep that from happening."

Hinata listened as their footsteps faded. Her heart was pounding. What was that? Hinata couldn't believe her ears, Lady Hokage didn't care about the Village?

_Doesn't Lady Hokage feel anything for the people who are getting hurt? If this Project Nine is to defeat the Akatsuki and Orochimaru why does she want to keep it secret? Should I tell someone about this!?_

Hinata clutched her stomach, it was doing flips and somersaults. She wished she could pull the strings of Konoha, then people wouldn't have get hurt, and this terrible sounding Project Nine wouldn't be needed. But...

A little thought slipped into her head. It was a voice from deep down:

_Why not?_

Hinata shook her head. She was trying to clear her mind of the thoughts those words brought with them. Find out all about Project Nine and blackmail Tsunade. Then she could fix Konoha. She could control it, and keep everyone safe.

Hinata gulped. This wasn't her. She felt ashamed at the very thought blackmailing anybody!

_But what if I could make things better?_

Hinata closed her eyes tightly, no, these couldn't be her thoughts! She had to tell someone about this project before it got out of hand.

_I have a chance to do something and I'm ignoring it! I could help Konoha!_

Hinata wanted to do it. She felt sick that she admitted something like that, even if it was only herself, even if it was to help. She also could feel her darker thoughts surfacing.

_If I controlled Konoha no one could ever call me weak again._

She grabbed fistfuls of her hair and pulled. This wasn't her! How could she think that with the people she loved possibly in grave danger!?

_If I controlled Konoha Tsunade wouldn't ever be able to laugh at me. _

Hinata was shaking now. She refused to believe those thoughts were hers.

"I'll f-find out about Project Nine to protect the Village! Nothing else!" she lied to herself.

_If I controlled Konoha........_

_No one would ever know........_

_No one would ever suspect me....._

_ I could get away with it...._

_No one would be able to stop me....  
_

_Because no one would ever think it was me pulling the strings...._

_I could take over Konoha....._

_Why not?

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_How was it? Please review! I only need 1! Please? I really want to know if my writing has improved! And if I got more than one review I would be especially grateful! Thank you for reading it! I hoped you liked it!


	2. Realization

Hey there! Uh, I'm sorry for such a late update! =_=" School's started and have a math test and a french test coming up, that and I'm lazy~ Well, I hope this answers some you guys' questions about Sakura's behavior! Though I hate Sakura I'm not trying to bash her. And you know I just love reviews! They encourage my lazy ass to write! I hope this chapter is better than the first but I need reviews to tell me whether or not my writing is getting better or worse! Uh...Please enjoy!

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Sai leaned against the back wall of the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Sakura and Ino were getting into a viscous fight and all he could do was watch. Naruto and Sakura had been acting strange and he could no longer attribute it being because of a bad day. He folded his arms and watched Sakura shove Ino roughly, still yelling about something. Naruto just stood off to the side rooting for Sakura.

_We came back from the mission this morning.. And then got chewed out by Lady Tsunade. They were fine then. Then we went into the forest to train, and saw that little girl..._

Sai thought about when they had seen the little girl.

~Sakura had suggested they practice their chakra control. They went into the forest and headed toward some of the trees that looked taller than the rest to practice tree climbing. When they had reached the place, they spotted a small child curled up at roots of the tallest tree. She looked like she was coughing up blood and in pain. They could hear her crying. Sakura rushed over to her.

Before she was half way there the girl looked up and yelled at her to stop. Sakura had kept going but before she could reach the girl she suddenly froze mid-step. Naruto was about to run over to her but the girl started screaming.

"No! Stay back! Or she'll hurt you too!"

Naruto just stared, "What!?"

"She'll hurt you! Please don't come any closer!" The girl shook her head with tears running down her face.

Naruto took out a kunai, "Heh! Don't worry! I'll take on who ever it is! Just stay there and we'll take care of the rest!" he gave her a determined smile.

Sai looked around, scrutinizing the area, "Naruto, I don't see anything. And Sakura hasn't moved or said anything. Something's wrong."

Naruto's eyes darted to the left and then up to the right, "It doesn't matter! We have to help that girl! Let's go Sai!"

Naruto rushed forward with Sai behind him. He was about to pass the still frozen Sakura when he suddenly stopped too. Sai ran into him and looked everywhere, he saw no traps, no people, nothing. Then a sudden paralyzing pain shot through his body. He felt his pulse slow. After a few seconds, he felt the pain dissipate and he was again free to move.

The little girl's crying got louder, "Why!? Why do you have to do this? They weren't going to hurt me! Let them go! Please just release them!"

Sai stared at the girl then at Naruto and Sakura who barely moved. He heard a shriek and looked back to the girl. She was gone, the only thing left was a little wooden sandal. That's when Naruto and Sakura came out of their trance.

Sakura blinked, her chest heaving, "What—? The girl..."

Naruto was breathing heavily, "S-Sai? What happened?"

"I don't know....Whoever the girl was talking about seemed to be protecting her so...I don't think it's necessary we go after her. At least not right away. Are you alright?"

Sakura looked over at Naruto, "I- guess... I just felt my body lock up.. I was starting to feel my heart slow down and I couldn't breath! The girl.... we should check around to see what trap we got caught in. Did you see anything Sai?"

"No, I didn't even see who took the girl away."

"Damn it! She might be hurt! Well they had to have been using some kind of jutsu or we would have seen them. There aren't many places they could have hidden with how spaced out the trees are here."Sakura said through clenched teeth. Naruto nodded, his knuckles turning white with the increasing grip on his kunai.~

A loud crash brought Sai out of his thoughts. Ino had smashed a rather large flowerpot over Sakura's head. Sakura stumbled back, shaking terracotta pieces out of her hair, "I-Ino!? I-I...that wasn't... I can't believe I said tha-"

"Get out! I don't want to see you at my shop again! How dare you say that! You promised me you would never bring that up again!" Ino screamed, she looked on the verge of tears.

Sakura just stood still, "Ino....I didn't mean...I.."

Naruto stormed over to Sakura and grabbed her arm, "Come on! I wanna get ramen! Can't your stupid fight wait? Let's go Sai! I'm starving!"

Sai's eyes widened a little. He thought the changes might have been because of the justu that was used on them, but it was only over little things and they always regained their senses. Sai also didn't notice anything wrong with himself. They must have just been frustrated they let the little girl get taken away.

-Back at Hinata's house-

Hinata leaned against the wall and stared across the room at the bathroom door. The room was dark even though it was only the afternoon and she couldn't bring herself to light any of the paper lanterns. She still couldn't believe what happened this morning. She closed her eyes tight remembering those thoughts: _If I controlled Konoha, no one would ever be able to call me weak again._

How could she think that? That was her only thought. She just felt such shame, how could she be so selfish. Her stomach growled quietly and she started to get up. Pressing her hand against part of the paper wall and pushing herself up for support she immediately got the feeling she'd regret it. When the unmistakable sound of paper tearing reached her ears it was too late.

Hinata fell _through _the wall. With a confused and unhappy squeak she tumbled down a small flight of of wooden stairs, painful, splintery, wooden stairs. She smacked into stone wall at the bottom and was laid out flat on her back, she could feel random spots on her body start ache where there would be bruises tomorrow.

Sitting up and gingerly feeling the back of her head she looked around in amazement. It was very dark but she could see that she was in a small room. She blinked in surprise, still rubbing the back of her head. She got up and walked into the center of the room. It looked like the one upstairs minus the kitchen and bathroom. In front of her were a large pair of sliding doors with a dragon winding around a cherry tree painted in vivid colors across the panels. She blinked again, thankful for having good eyesight even in the dark.

Taking a deep breath she took cautious steps toward the door. The dragon reminded her of the one on the front door. Sliding the door open with one hand she gasped at what lay inside. Inside the second room scattered everywhere in messy piles were beautiful silk kimonos! Hinata stepped inside and bent down to pick up a sky blue obi, she couldn't imagine anyone would leave these down here. She set the obi down and looked around the room again. It looked like many of the kimonos were unfinished, that and some things seemed to be bolts of cloth. In the far corner of the room was something that looked like an alter.

As she maneuvered around the piles toward it, she realized it was sword-stand. It cradled a katana in a black sheath with a golden handle. She hesitated before lifting it up in both hands. Carefully pulling the blade out a few inches she noticed a small engraving. It said: Tsubaki.

She took her right hand off the handle and touched the engraving. A shiver went through her body. What a strange thing to find down here. She placed her hand back on the handle, her fingers winding around it in a tight grip. She slid the blade out of the sheath completely. She dropped the sheath carelessly on the ground, completely mesmerized by the strange shining edge. She took hold of the sword handle with both hands. Another shiver swept through her body, she'd never picked up a blade before and yet it felt so natural to hold this one.

The katana blade was long, it wasn't something one could carry at their side easily, if at all. She swung the blade in a downward arc, almost grazing the wall nearby. After a few more swings Hinata found herself in staring at the beautiful silver blade again. She looked down at the sword-stand next to the discarded sheath. Tucked underneath it was small scroll. She bent down and picked it up with one hand, holding the katana tightly in the other. The scroll seemed to be some kind of receipt. Squinting in dark she read it: the sword was bought from a collector by Hiro Nagami, a man who was quite interested with the myths surrounding a certain unnamed castle.

Hinata raised an eyebrow, there was a lot on here for a receipt. She decided to skim over it and read the important sounding bits. It said the castle had vanished in the forest and no one could ever find it. The princess of the castle had the katana made by an old woman who many thought was witch. Nagami thought to search for the castle, having heard an old legend about returning the sword but soon gave up. He sought to write about the castle's myths but went missing. His head was found in an alley over in Tanzaku Town. According to the the scroll that left the sword to his daughters Tsuki and Tsukiko. After his funeral....

Hinata stared uncertainly at the writing, it was smudged and no longer readable. Most of the page after that was smudged from what looked like a coffee stain of some sort. Except the last few lines about how long it took to make, how much Nagami bought it for, and the sword's name; Dance of Insanity. Frowning, she looked at the blade in her hand, "It's odd enough finding it down here with the kimonos...but Dance of Insanity? I guess it fits the vanishing castle and being made by a witch story.."

She set down the scroll and again took hold of the blade in both hands. Even in the dark of the room she could see the blade shine. She stared at it fondly, a smile spread across her face. After a minute she snapped back to reality.

Shaking her head she muttered to herself, "Who could have left it here? And why did they hide the door? Hnnn.... It so beautiful..." Hinata felt herself drift off in an almost dreamlike state. In her mind's eye she saw herself wielding the blade, twirling in graceful arcs and slashing through enemy after enemy. Her steps were light and her movements fluid. It was almost like she was dancing.

She gasped and almost dropped the katana but her right hand held firmly onto the handle. She covered her mouth with the other hand, "T-the Dance of Insanity?!" Her eyes opened wide and she felt her stomach do flips.

_I- I can't keep this sword! What do I do with it? Leave it here?_

She picked up the sheath and slid the blade back in place. Her mind reeling. She went to set it down on the stand but stopped.

_I-I'm overreacting! There's no need to panic, right? _

She took a deep breath.

_It's just a sword. No reason to have a heart attack.... None at all...Right?_

Hinata closed her eyes and searched for that inner voice that she heard earlier at the Hokage's. She found nothing but her own timid thoughts. She opened her eyes. It had to be there... She gritted her teeth and searched her mind again. Still nothing. What had it said to her? _Why not? _It convinced her with those words, and even brought out her darker desires. It was powerful, something like that shouldn't just disappear.

She felt strangely empty knowing that the voice wasn't there. Her lower lip trembled, her own voice a pained whisper, "W-wasn't that m-my voice? Didn't I come to those decisions myself? I h-had t-to.... I'm not that weak...a-am I?" She swallowed the lump forming her throat, "How e-else could I have? But, then.. W-where is that voice n-now?"

Her eyes began to sting and she hugged the sword to her chest. She bit down her tongue, she was not going to cry over this. She looked at the unfinished kimonos and bolts of silk. She turned to the nearest pile and scooped it up in her arms, still holding onto the sword. She needed to sew. She didn't think when she sewed. And ever since Neji showed her how to when she was little it was what she did when she wanted to be away from her thoughts. It was defiantly time to be away from her thoughts.

She ran out of the room, almost slipping on the wooden floor and bits of silk. She trudged up the stairs, staring at the large tear in the wall panel. She guessed putting a screen in front of it would be enough for now. She went through the hole with a sigh. She tossed the pile of kimonos and fabric and the sword into a heap on the floor. She went to the back of the room into the small kitchen and fished through the drawers until she found some matches. Lighting the many colorful paper lanterns that hung from the ceiling, Hinata felt a little better from the warm festival-like atmosphere the room now had.

She went back to the kitchen drawer and pulled out a tiny basket full of colorful threads, a porcupine shaped pincushion stuck with needles and pins, a few clothes' patterns, and some scissors. She went and sat down next her pile and looked up at blue and red orb-shaped lantern above her. She smiled but it soon faded as she realized her home might be a fire hazard. She shook her head and pulled out a half-done kimono and a bit of silk. The kimono needed to have trim put on it, the rest of the left sleeve sewn up, and an obi. She pulled a needle out her porcupine-cushion and began trying to get thin piece of blue thread through the needle's eye.

-Early the next morning-

Hinata had fallen asleep next her night's work. She pushed aside a small pile of finished obi and kimonos and tried to stretch out her stiff limbs. She took a deep breath and was about to let out a sigh of relief, but it died in her throat as all her abandoned thoughts came rushing back dragging along a large migraine. Not only that but she had a mission this morning! Hinata groaned.

She got up and went to look for her hairbrush. After a brief time getting ready was ready to walk out the door but something stopped her. She turned to look at the katana, tossed carelessly on a pile of fabric. She felt an odd pang in her chest, and quickly went to pick it up and hurried out the door.

Mission objective: take "important" scroll from point A to point B. In other words; deliver a scroll that could've easily been handled by postman to an out of the way teahouse in the forest. Hinata felt like she was being mocked, a genin could do this. That and this teahouse was nothing more than brothel. She wondered how many times she could be sent on the same kind of demeaning mission, it was always "take this secret scroll to this secret special location" and the person who handed to her always had this about-to-burst-out-laughing smirk on their face.

She was just sick of it. But what could she do? With a depressed sigh she looked up and could see the teahouse just ahead. She quickened her pace with the mindset to get this over with as soon as she possibly could. As she neared the old two-story building she began to think of reasons they would suddenly call such a place a "teahouse" as she was sure that wasn't the title in earlier years. She held on tightly to her sword and the scroll and took a deep breath.

Hinata walked through the half-open door and was immediately bombarded by the smell of stale smoke, strong drinks, rancid body odor, strong, tacky perfume, and just a hint of vomit. A stench that seemed to suit the men seated around the small tables. She winced and tried to walk through them with as much of her high-bred Hyuuga dignity as possible. But she could just feel their eyes on her, she knew what they were thinking too, their perverted smiles and leering eyes were not lost to her at all. Neither were the background sounds. She resisted the urge to bash their ugly faces in with the sword hilt.

_Ignore them, this will be over soon._

Finally making it to the counter behind which a young girl with too much make-up and not enough clothes was standing, Hinata waited somewhat impatiently behind a man with greasy disheveled hair. The man seemed to be giddy, he was holding a coin of some kind. Hinata frowned, realizing it was some sort of token.

The girl behind the counter smiled at him and took the token out of his hands, sliding it into her pocket. She grabbed a large folder and offered it to him, "Would you like to see our menu?"

Hinata felt her stomach turn. With a scornful glare she watched the disgusting man slink away while drooling over the pictures.

"Come back when you've decided!" The girl sang happily.

Hinata's glare turned to the girl, with her head held high she comforted herself with the knowledge that she may be weak and selfish but she would never be low as the woman before her. The girl looked her up and down with an approving albeit jealous smirk. She reached down a picked up a different folder almost bursting with papers and hugged to her flat chest, "Hello. Are you looking for a job?"

Hinata's eyes went wide with anger and shock. She would never! She had dignity! Hyuuga or not, she would never sell herself and be some man's plaything! With a sharp, irritated motion, she shoved the scroll rudely into the girls face and dropped it on the counter, she didn't want to touch anything that girl's hands had been on.

The girl frowned and set folder on counter. She opened the scroll and read over it quickly, occasionally looking up at Hinata who had her sword in a death-grip. After a minute the girl set it down and giggled, "Hnn~ Are all ninja as irritable as you? Go down the hall and then go right. The Sunset room is the first door before you go upstairs." Then the girl looked over the folder, "You know, it's never to late to start a new career...It can be fun too."

Hinata practically snarled the girl, "I was raised better than that." She said with unintentional emphasis on 'better'.

She stormed off in search the Sunset room with absolutely no idea of what she needed to do once she got there. After a minute of looking around and attempting to block out her sense of hearing she found she forgot the simple directions. She turned down a hall and almost collided with a young man wearing nothing but an open kimono. Hinata turned around with a slight squeak and apologized quietly, intent on purposefully failing the mission and leaving. She hugged the sword to her chest like it would allow her to disappear.

The man chuckled, he had sweet, deep voice, a handsome face, and long black spikey hair. He closed the robe and tapped her on the shoulder. Hinata glanced back at him with frown. He smiled, "Sorry about that. I just took a shower.."

_What!?_

She nodded and mumbled something about leaving but he grabbed her hand. She felt her body tense up and her stomach began it's acrobatic routine. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "Hey now, don't run off. Did you need something? What's with that look? I work here."

Hinata shook her head and asked were the Sunset room was. The man pointed to his left at a door next to a staircase. She nodded and avoided his green-eyed gaze as she slipped inside.

"My name's Toujirou, by the way." He called after her.

Inside the Sunset room a woman with long, black hair lounged against the wall. She was covered with paint of various oranges, yellows, and reds and was blanketed by large sheet. She opened an eye and suddenly flung a small black box her. Hinata caught it easily. It seemed far to heavy for its size.

"Get out." The woman growled harshly.

Hinata was bit taken back but thankful, she could leave now. With her sword in one hand and the strange box in the other she began heading back out into the hall. The man, Toujirou, was outside peeking into the room across from the Sunset. He looked over his shoulder with a smile, "Tsuki-san's a bit grouchy isn't she?"

Hinata nodded nervously and quickly got out of the teahouse. As she began making her way through the forest, the name Tsuki seemed stuck in her head. She remembered it from somewhere but couldn't quite place it. She was barely paying attention to where she was going, absorbed in her thoughts. That is until the angry shouting of man snapped her out of them.

"Hey! Girl! Give me that box there! And while you're at it, hand over the sword and any money you got!"

The man looked strong, he was bigger than Hinata and had some armor on, though he clearly wasn't a ninja. He was holding knife and was poised to lunge at her at any moment. Hinata shoved the box into her pocket and then felt the headband around her neck. This man was either very stupid or very sure of himself. He huffed, "Time's up stupid girl!"

Hinata's right hand flew to sword handle and without a single thought she quickly and gracefully slid Dance of Insanity's blade out of the sheath and sliced through the robber's neck, decapitating him. Blood spurted from the corpse as it fell to the ground. It took only seconds for her realize what she did.

She jerked her head to look at blade, its edge dripped with dark, almost black blood. She looked down at her feet where the headless corpse lay. She knelt down and wordlessly cleaned the blood of the blade with the man's shirt. Her thoughts seemed be frozen, she could barely comprehend them. She looked the sword in her hands, the once shining silver now stained with a strange blackness.

The words left her lips before she even knew them, "You tainted my Insanity.."

She suddenly gasped in surprise. Did she really say that? She bit her lip, sheathing the blade she ran the rest of the way to Konoha, dropping off the box at the Mission Center.

-Later that Night-

Hinata was laying on the floor next to the Dance of Insanity sword. She killed someone. She didn't understand how she could of done that. Not her, she was too weak, Father had always reminded her of that. She was too weak to kill someone, too weak to be a ninja and thus he had disowned her. But she _had _killed someone, she took his life and left his body there in the forest. But how? How could someone so weak kill purposefully?

Hinata reached out and touched the sheath with one finger. She didn't just kill, she felt no remorse for doing it. And that sickened her more than anything. She couldn't get the image of the headless body laying at her feet out of her head.

_With this sword....I ended a life. And I still don't care that that man is dead. He might have had family, friends, and attacked me out of desperation but I still don't care. _

Hinata retracted her hand. She felt disgusted at herself, not only was she selfish she was heartless too!

_But I did kill. I am not so weak as everyone thinks. I could take over Konoha...._

She sat up. Then her eyes widened and her mouth fell open slightly.

_"Hitomi, Tsukiko, and Sayuri escaped. They are thought to be somewhere in the forest.." _Shizune's voice repeated over and over in her head.

"Hitomi, Tsukiko, and Sayuri.." Hinata whispered to herself, "Hitomi, Tsukiko.. Tsukiko..?"

Hinata was quiet, she thought of the woman at the teahouse. Tsuki-san was what that Toujirou man had called her. Her mind struggled to fit it together. She knew this, but what was it? Tsukiko and Tsuki. Were they the same person? No, that wasn't it. Tsuki and Tsukiko...

Hinata looked at the sword next her. Tsuki and Tsukiko.. Then it hit her.

_Tsuki and Tsukiko are sisters! Tsukiko was part of Project Nine and her and Tsuki were supposed to own this sword!_

Hinata held Dance of Insanity close to her chest. Her thoughts racing about in her mind like a flood. If she went back to see Tsuki.. She might be able to learn about Project Nine...And... She took a deep breath. It might be a different Tsuki and Tsukiko. It was just too much of a coincidence, finding their sword in her house, learning about Project Nine, and seeing that Tsuki woman in the teahouse. But then again..

No. She wouldn't go back to see Tsuki. At least, not right away. Hinata bit her lip, she wasn't weak. She killed someone. So she should be able to have the guts to find out about Project Nine, regardless of she intended to use that knowledge for. She did kill.

She bit harder on lip, she did kill. Didn't she? Sliding Insanity's blade out she stared at the black stain upon it. Yes, the blade was stained, but did she kill that man? Hinata remembered the corpse. She remembered the blood. But she still wasn't sure.

"I-I'll g-go and look for the body..." She said to herself, her voice shaking.

-In the Forest-

She'd been to the teahouse and back and the body just wasn't there. It wasn't anywhere. Not even a drop of blood. Hinata was starting to get a headache, did someone move it? She had her Byakugan activated but still she found nothing. As she neared a clearing she noticed three dim chakra signatures.

She hid behind a tree and watched as three little girls argued and pushed each other about.

"I said we'll go get her! We can't leave her there!" A little girl with long brown hair and a pink kimono hissed, shoving a smaller one down to the ground.

"B-but she's just using us! Can't you see that!?" the girl on the ground coughed, she got on her knees grabbed the brown haired girl's shirt, "Please! We can be free now! We don't have to do what she says!" This girl had short hair the same color as Hinata's, she wore a torn blue kimono and an oversized pair of men's white hakama.

The brown haired girl smacked her on the head, "Why are you always so much trouble!? Like before in the forest!? What's wrong with you?"

The third girl stayed quiet, she had long black hair and wore a white kimono. Her eyes were a strange yellow color with flecks of red. This girl turned to look over at Hinata's direction and pointed to her. Hinata bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed and stepped out from behind the tree toward the little girls.

_The oldest one couldn't be more than nine! _

The brown haired girl turned to look at her and wicked smile spread across her face, "See!? See!? Her power is so great it even affects those who come in to contact with the others!"

_W-what?_

"And now I'll show you both my power! Watch closely Sayuri! This is the power she gave to me!" The girl laughed madly, like she was possessed.

The littlest girl grabbed the her kimono, "No! Hitomi please! Don-" she gave into a violent coughing fit, spattering Hitomi's pink kimono with specks of blood. "Please don't! You already hurt the people in the forest!" she wheezed.

"Shut up Sayuri! I won't do the same thing as I did to them. This girl is so weak, I can tell she's been affected by the mere presence of the others! Perhaps she met the ones from the forest?" Hitomi laughed again.

The black haired girl just stared at Hinata, "Know your own thoughts, woman, or you'll be lost to her power like Hitomi."

Hinata was speechless. These were the girls from Project Nine? They were children! What was Lady Hokage doing!?

Hitomi suddenly looked confused, "What? You're here too?"

Hinata almost forgot where she was, she almost didn't notice the presence behind her. But she turned to face the danger too late. All she saw was fist aimed for her temple and then a dull pain that consumed every sense she had and thrust her into unconsciousness.

* * *

Hey, how was it? Was it better, worse, the same, or meh? Please tell me!! And uh, I meant for Madara to be in this chapter but, well, that didn't work. He SHOULD be in the next one though. Also, how did I do on keeping Hinata in character? Anywho, I hope enjoyed. Please Review!!!


	3. Seeing Red

Hey there! Ha! Finally got the chappie up! Reason for taking forever: school. And math....I hate math...

Anywho.....No, Madara isn't in this chappie :( A certain person has to die first, so there's a good chance he won't be in the next one either....But hey! He'll be here!...Eventaully...

And a big big thanks to XxDarkSarcasm1010xX for helping me get this done! Without her constant bugging you may have never seen this chappie! So go thank her! And I hope this chapter is at least almost as good as the others...I was under (and still am) a lot of stress from school, more than just math... So my nerves were a bit frazzled... Ah but then again that happens to everyone at least once eh? Oh, and this may seem kinda stupid but- if you use the metric system, I'm sorry, when I describe length it's in feet and stuff so...yeah..I think you manage though...I hope...Ah...see you at the ending author note~

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

Hinata was running through what appeared to be the long, winding corridors of castle. She was tired, but her legs moved against her will. Her head hurt, like she'd been hit with a sledgehammer. As she ran she noticed she was only wearing her undershirt, but she could still feel the fabric of her coat. She reached the end of the hall and stopped at a large pair of sliding doors. Through the plain white rice paper panels a dim light could be seen causing the panels to give off an eerie glow.

Hinata shivered, the air swirled around her and pricked her skin with its cold icy claws leaving her covered in goosebumps. The doors slid open and her legs again moved against her will. Her heart pounded against her chest, she shut her eyes tightly. When she felt her legs stop she opened one pale white eye. She was in the center of a room, the dim glowing seemed to radiate out of the walls themselves. The wall in front of her was strange. She thought she was looking at a mirror but she realized the girl in front of her was much too young. The imagine wavered and rippled like water that had had a stone cast into it. Hinata watched, fascinated, as the girl stepped out into a bright courtyard.

~The girl was Hinata when she around seven. This younger Hinata was headed toward her father and what appeared to be training post of some sort. Her father said nothing but pointed to the post, his mouth set in a frown. Hinata nodded and took a deep breath. She stood in front of the post and got into a very basic Gentle Fist stance, her left hand held ready to strike and her right held up at her side ready for a second hit. With a loud grunt she struck the post dead center and quickly made a second hit with the other hand. _Breathe. Hit. Breathe. Hit. Breathe._ She repeated to herself in her head.

Time moved quickly around her, but in her mind she was stuck in one moment. _Breathe. Hit._ _Breathe. Hit_. It was all she could think about. Her father stood beside her and watched silently._ Breathe. Hit. Breathe. Hit. _The moment she was captured in finally passed and a dull, stinging pain spread through the palms of her hands. _Breathe. Hit. Breathe! Hit!_ Hiashi didn't move, his mouth drawn in frown, as always. The post had a bruise on it. No, it wasn't bruise. A dark, wet stain where Hinata's palms touched the wood. _Breathe!_ _Hit! Breathe! Hit!_ Blood. _Breathe! Hit! _Hinata's hands were bleeding. _Breathe! Hit!_

Hiashi shook his head, his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and regarded his daughter, the Hyuuga heir, with a cold, disappointed glare, "Hinata. You still haven't mastered the basics." he said in toneless voice, "You are the Hyuuga heir! You are of the Main Branch!" his voice grew harsh, "There are children in the Cadet Branches with better mastery of the Gentle Fist than you!"

_Hit! Breathe! Hit! Breathe!_ But Hinata couldn't breathe, she couldn't feel her body, only hear the words her father said as they wrapped themselves around her throat and strangled her. Then, he said the words that put a hole through her heart.

"You are weak Hinata!" Hiashi growled. Though he loved his daughter, the clan came first. It always did, always will. And for the clan to be successful, sacrifices must be made. Hinata was no exception, unless she got stronger, the duty of being heir would fall to someone else.

Hinata whimpered but continued to strike the post. She could get stronger! She would prove to her father she could be the heir! She would prove to him she wasn't weak! She would!~

Hinata felt familiar tears sting her eyes. How many times has her father called her weak? How many times has she proved him right? She rubbed her arm, why was it getting so cold..and wet? She looked at her hand, she could see nothing but she could feel little drops of something cold and wet slide down her hand and down her arm. She put a hand to her face, one side was dry but the other side was wet. Her hair was wet on that side, and so was her body.

On the right side of her body, the dry part, she felt a large, cold, wet drop land on her arm. She blinked and tried to brush it off. She felt another hit her right cheek. _What is this?_ Another drop landed on her thigh. _Where is this coming from? _A painful throbbing began in her head, at the right temple. Her vision seemed to blur and she stumbled back. She felt more and more drops of the invisible cold water hit her. She looked around the room, her sight blurred at the edges. Each time she blinked a sideways view of grass and something long and black flashed before her.

Then she collapsed.

Hinata opened her eyes. Tall wet grass tickled her face as it swayed in the wind. She had been laying in the wet grass for awhile. She shivered, rain had started to pour down and was soaking her to the bone. She sat up, her head hurt so badly she was sure she had a concussion. Laying in the grass a few feet from her was Dance of Insanity. She quickly grabbed Insanity and held it close to her.

Resting her cheek against Insanity's black sheath she tried to remember what had happened. Those little girls who were arguing and then someone attacked her. Hinata closed her eyes. Those little girls were from Project Nine, Tsunade was doing something to children. Hinata whimpered, she couldn't believe that Lady Hokage would do something so heartless. The littlest girl, Sayuri, had looked deathly ill. The brown haired girl, Hitomi, had scared her with that insane laugh and the wicked smile that should have never been worn by such a young child. And then, Tsukiko, the girl with black hair and strange eyes.

_Actually, her eyes might have something to do with her bloodline, like mine. But, she seemed so different compared to the other two. And then what she said. Ah.. My head.... I wonder who knocked me out? Ugh, they have a good punch! I'll give them that!_

Hinata bit her lip as the cold rain continued to pelt her mercilessly.

_ Tsukiko.... I guess it would be better to head to the "Teahouse" and talk to Tsuki-san sooner than I had planned. _

Hinata stood up. Her long hair was plastered to her face and back and her baggy clothes were heavy with rain. Though the rain was beginning to slow to a drizzle now. With Insanity in hand she took a step forward. Something caught her attention from behind. A chakra signature, a weak one but it was strange. It was as if another stronger signature was laced throughout it, almost but not completely entwined with it. She took a breath, remembering the signature she sensed before being knocked out. She felt the owner of said signature lunge toward her.

In any other situation, Hinata would have utilized the skills she learned from her shinobi training and dodged or used a clone. But in the split second she thought to do that her hand flew instinctively to Insanity's handle. Simultaneously turning on her heel and sliding out the long three foot blade she slashed out in an upward arc, sending Insanity's edge whipping through the air in a silver streak. The sheath dropped to the ground by her feet. A demented laugh and painful sounding clunk brought her attention to a young man with no shirt and black pants sprawled out on his back in the wet grass. The rain that now was starting to stop had soaked him too.

Hinata's eyes widened a little. This young man bore a striking resemblance to the little Sayuri girl from earlier. His hair was the same color and cut just as short but on an angle and his was matted. His round but handsome face wasn't as pale as Sayuri's but both had the same features. And his eyes reminded her of Sayuri's as well, but while the large brown orbs screamed innocence the strange coldness they held laughed malice.

This man before her laughed much like Hitomi but something was off about it. His laugh seemed to come from his very soul while Hitomi had laughed as if a completely different person had taken control, though both sounded insane. The man stood up, he was barely taller than her and rather lean but his odd presence was intimidating enough on its own. Hinata took a step back and had to remind herself to show as little emotion on her face as possible lest she give away her fear.

The man looked at her, "Much better! Much better! Then you should attempt to cut me down as well?!" He spoke quickly and loudly with unmistakable excitement in his voice.

Hinata raised the blade slightly in front of herself, ready to block any sudden attack he might make. Her mind in tatters from his sudden appearance, she tried to think of someone strong and what they would say. Neji came to mind, but the way he approached things; calm, clearheaded, rationally, and logically was not something Hinata thought she could pull off at the moment. So she did what she deemed the next best thing; like a Hyuuga.

She raised her chin up to look down upon him, forcing as much dignity and confidence into her voice as she could, "I do not kill needlessly." she said through gritted teeth.

"Needlessly? You hold a reaper's tool in your hands! Your headband marks you as a reaper as well! If you don't kill needlessly then why kill at all?"

"W-What?" she gasped, "I-I'm a ninja! I only kill those I have to! Enemies!"

"Ninja, soldier, mercenary, murderer. From the view point of the neutral it's all the same." he muttered.

Hinata's jaw fell open slightly, "What d-do y-y-you mean?"

The man tilted his head to the side like a confused dog, "Do you not see what you do, Reaper? If you kill a so called enemy then do you not still widow a husband or wife? Do you not orphan a child? Do the friends and family of your "enemy" not grieve and mourn like you or those you consider allies would? Well Reaper? Do you see what you do?" he asked as if talking to a small child who didn't know any better.

Hinata stayed silent for a moment, then she said quietly, "Please don't call me R-Reaper... I only do w-what I h-h-have too..I know...w-what k-k-k-killing d-does... " her voice cracked.

"No, I don't think you do Shinigami."

"No, my name is Hinata!"she said quickly.

"You take lives like shinigami without remorse like shinigami, therefore you might as well be a reaper, a shinigami."

"How would you know whether or not I kill without remorse?! And what about yourself!?" Hinata glared at him, Insanity no longer held in front of her.

The man nodded "We are both Shinigami, Hinata-san, and the afterlife that awaits us will be filled with our kind, everyone. No one is innocent." he gave her a disturbing smile.

Sucking in a deep breath of air, Hinata tried to look the man in the eye, " Shinigami-san, what are you called? Why do you bother with me?" she demanded.

"You understand, then?... My name... I have a name... My name... her name..." he trailed off incoherently.

Hinata eyed him for a minute, "Your name is.." she took a breath, "Nobuyuki?"

"Names... Her name... My name...yes...yes...My name.." the man stared down at his feet and rocked back and forth on his heels.

"So you are Nobuyuki!?" Hinata was stunned. She didn't think she could guess and then get it right! But his name was what came to mind when she thought of the possibility of someone else from Project Nine. She let out a loud sigh. Nobuyuki paid her no mind and continued rocking on his heels, muttering.

_"The others are in Southern. Well, except Nobuyuki. He's been so much trouble, he's absolutely insane! I don't understand why you think-"_

Hinata nodded to herself, yes, that's where she heard of him. But hadn't Shizune said he was locked up? She couldn't remember. She looked up but Nobuyuki suddenly bolted and sped off into the forest.

"H-hey!" she called after him. She was about to run after him too but a shiver ran up her spine and she felt a pulse in Insanity's handle.

Turning around she noticed a figure. A girl.

She was surprised at first. She thought she would've at least noticed her chakra. _Wait...what? _Her chakra, Hinata realized with a gasp, was nonexistent._ I would be able to see if she had a seal or if she had incredibly weak chakra but... _The girl had long black hair and a white kimono. Hinata's heart began to race. It was Tsukiko. Or was it? _Tsukiko had a charka signature, all three of the little girls did! But now...?_

Tsukiko watched her with disapproving eyes. "Humans, always playing with things they shouldn't, tsk tsk tsk." she spoke in monotone.

Hinata gripped Insanity in both hands and held it in front of her defensively, "W-what are you?" Hinata asked in a small voice. Tsukiko just stared, not blinking. "What did Lady H-hokage do to you?"

Tsukiko approached Hinata slowly, her eyes never blinking and the strange red flecks glittering at times. She stopped a foot away from where Hinata stood, Insanity's blade hovering over her head. "Don't confuse me with Hitomi, woman. Make no mistake, your 'Lady' has had no effect on me. Neither has Yodo."

"Y-Yodo?" Hinata's eyes grew wide.

"So fragile, it is...." Tsukiko sighed, "What a waste."

Hinata bit her tongue, "W-what a-are you talking about?" she asked, carefully moving Insanity's blade away from the girl and to her own side.

"The human mind. Listen woman, I'm feeling generous today- tell me something and I'll tell you something." Tsukiko said, not at all trying to hide the amusement that crept into her voice.

Hinata furrowed her brow, "W-what? So I..c-can ask y-you s-something?"

"If you want to do it that way then fine. You ask something and then I'll ask you something."

"And y-you won't l-lie? Why a-are y-you doing t-this?" Hinata held Insanity loosely in her hand and brought her left hand up to her chest, resting it over her heart in an attempt to calm it down.

Tsukiko shook her head, " I feel bad for you, yours is incredibly fragile. And lying? What use do I have of lies?"

"Um.." Hinata thought a moment, what should she ask? Should she even trust this girl? Hinata took a long moment to think. _I...I...yeah. I can use this chance, to learn about Project Nine. ..But what? _

Tsukiko stared at her expectantly. Hinata tightened her grip on Insanity's handle, "Can I ask you more than one thing?"

"Ah, no. That would take all the fun out of it." Tsukiko smiled, those strange flecks in her yellow eyes glittering again. Hinata thought to describe her, _otherworldly, _she thought with a shiver.

"T-tell me..." Hinata paused and questioned her choice, "Tell me a-about...Yodo.." she said after another pause, "Please." she added quickly.

"Yodo?" Tsukiko asked, saying Yodo's name as if tasting some disgusting sort of food. "She is...a nuisance. But your "Lady" seems to have taken quite an interest in her. Hitomi was easily broken, and now uses Yodo's powers to bend and break others. Just as Yodo wanted. Unless you know your own thoughts, she'll break you too. She did the same to your "Lady" and her subordinates."

Hinata sucked in a deep breath of air. This Yodo woman was controlling Lady Hokage somehow.. And then Hitomi.. Hinata remembered suddenly what Hitomi had said to her earlier, _"Her power is so great it even affects those who come in to contact with the others!"_

_ If Lady Hokage was under Yodo's control then... Then....my...thoughts were...they weren't....mine!?_

Hinata let out a strangled whimper. She was weak. She allowed the power of someone who wasn't even there to control her! _Hitomi was right! _ Stinging tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. Tsukiko tilted her head, "My turn? What is that odd stain on your sword?" she asked ignoring Hinata's almost-tears.

Hinata held up Dance of Insanity, her arm shaking, her eyes burning. The blade had a strange blackness on the edge near the point of the sword. On any other sword it wouldn't be all that noticeable, but on Insanity's shining silver the stain was as visible as black paint on white paper.

"I...k-killed someone...t-the stain...i-is f-from the m-man's b-b-blood.." the tears had started spilling down her cheeks.

Tsukiko nodded , "And the blood left that stain? I see, and how did a human get a blade like that?"

Hinata's mind felt like an old clock with all the gears and cogs rearranged and broken from too much tinkering. But there was one little bit that worked, "I-if I tell you that, then you have to answer another one of my questions." she said feeling numb, even the little part of her mind that worked was doing so just barely.

Tsukiko laughed, "Fine then." her tone became serious, "Tell me where you got that blade."

"I just...found it in my house." Hinata muttered, "What's so special about it?" Hinata immediately clapped a hand to her mouth, "T-that's not what I meant to a-ask!" The little part was starting to work a little better.

Tsukiko looked aghast, "Just in her house? Laying around just like that?" The girl asked herself, "How could it have even gotten to this world without shattering!?"

Hinata just watched the strange little girl mutter to herself, her own hand still covering her mouth. _Maybe...she didn't hear me...And I can ask something different! _She hadn't heard the last bit about Insanity shattering.

Tsukiko finally stopped conversing with herself and looked at Hinata, "That sword is special, because it wasn't made in this world. And that's all a pathetic human like yourself needs to know."

"What!?" Hinata asked, but she found she was talking to thin air. Tsukiko had vanished in the blink of an eye.

A shiver went through her body, Hinata wasn't sure whether it was from the cold or from the fright of seeing a girl vanish before her eyes. Hinata slowly lowered her hand from her mouth. The air around her suddenly began to feel very thick. She looked at the silver blade in her hand and then to the spot were Tsukiko had stood. After a moment she picked up Insanity's scabbard and sheathed the sword.

She began walking in the direction of Teahouse. Her mind clear of every thought but the sword. _If it isn't made in this world....then why did I find it in my basement? _She had heard that part, and her imagination set about filling her head with theories about what it could mean.

_ __________________________________________________________________

As Hinata made her way to the Teahouse, an odd feeling started growing inside of her. A strange mix of apprehension and excitement, fear and joy all rolling up into one. The feeling started at her heart and little tendrils of it reached out and then claimed the rest of her. Project Nine was more than she thought, more than she could ever even dream of. And that was only the little bit she knew.

Tsukiko, Hitomi, Nobuyuki, and Yodo... What was Yodo's true power? What did Lady Hokage plan to do with it? Or was it that, Lady Hokage never had a plan and simply fell under Yodo's power? Hinata thought a moment, of Lady Hokage being innocent, of Project Nine all being Yodo's doing with her wicked powers. Then, she thought of being called into the Hokage's office that day, of the way Lady Hokage always carried herself, of the way Lady Hokage did things. Hinata frowned, she didn't want to think the Hokage would do something like create Project Nine and work on children. She thought of Sayuri, coughing up blood onto Hitomi's kimono. She took a deep breath, but Lady Hokage seemed to be very desperate since Orochimaru's attack on Konoha and the appearance of the Akatsuki...maybe..

Hinata's thoughts involuntarily drifted back to when the Hokage had called her into her office that awful day, back to edges of the Hokage's mouth as they twitched to keep from laughing at her.. If she twisted the truth a little, she could have Lady Hokage kneel down and kiss her feet. She could convince her she knew more than she did, and threaten to spill the Hokage's secret. _She wouldn't laugh at me if I threatened her... _And then her sword; Dance of Insanity. It was an unearthly blade according to what little Tsukiko had said. Did that mean it had great power? Could she use it against Lady Hokage? Now that she was nearing the Teahouse, would she learn more about the blade? Or even Tsukiko?

But if Lady Hokage was 'broken' because of Yodo's power, what chance did Hinata have? She fell under Yodo's spell simply by being near Lady Hokage! _I'm weak... _And the sword... What if Tsuki-san or Tsukiko took it back?

Hinata's heart lurched at the thought of not having Dance of Insanity.

They could take anything, but not the sword. Anything, but not her Insanity.

The Teahouse was coming into to view and the vile smells from it were beginning to reach Hinata at last, a new smell burned her nose this time; smoke.. The rank odor somehow cleared her head. _All these feelings and thoughts....they are so out of place..._

Finally reaching the door, she heard a crash inside. Then the door slide open and the man from before, Toujirou, appeared in the doorway. He dragged another man outside and kicked him hard in the ribs.

"Don't you dare come back scum!" he growled.

Toujirou ignored Hinata completely and kept beating the man at his feet. Hinata tightened her grip on Insanity and debated whether or not to help the man. She decided against it and slipped into the Teahouse. She was shocked at the scene inside.

Broken plates and glasses, overturned tables, and bodies. The bodies were not those of the dead, but the unconscious, those awake or waking were cursing angrily. Outside Hinata heard who she assumed to be the man Toujirou was attacking.

"You'll regret it! All of you will!" he shouted horsely. He sounded a lot younger than he had looked. Almost like a teenager in a middle aged man's body.

Hinata heard Toujirou curse at the man and his footsteps coming back. He came inside and glared at Hinata, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I-I...Uh...Tsuki-s-san....Um...."

Toujirou suddenly slapped his forehead, "Ah! You're the girl from before! You must have walked here through the rain..," he remarked at seeing her sodden clothes, "Oh...you must be here to see Tsuki about the job...sorry..." He bowed apologetically.

Hinata's face went red. How could he think that she would whore herself out-

"She's in the back, the the very last room down the hall." He said interrupting her thoughts.

She nodded and walked briskly toward the hallway, stepping over plates and people. She found the door easily. Without thinking to knock she went in.

Tsuki was standing by the girl from the counter fixing the girl's hair, "And just as I was going inside, Makoro comes over- Hey! What are you doing in here!?" She put her hands on her hips and stared angrily at Hinata, leaving a lock of hair to dangle and curl into the counter girl's eye.

"I..." a tight cage of fear formed around Hinata's heart. It struck her she had no idea what she had come to ask Tsuki, but she remembered the scroll in her basement bearing both Tsukiko and Tsuki's name. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes, "Ineedtoknowaboutyoursister!" she said as fast as she could.

Tsuki frowned, "What? Miki?"

The girl next to her pointed to herself, "Me!?"

Hinata felt herself suddenly grow cold, "You don't have a sister named Tsukiko?" her throat became dry.

Miki hid behind her sister, "Tsukinami! Why is there a ninja after me!?" the girl seemed to ignore what she had just asked.

Hinata felt herself grow colder, "Tsuki...nami?"

Miki grabbed her sister's arm, "Tsukinami-san! Am I going to prison!?" Miki's eyes were wide and she was shaking.

Hinata shook her head, "N-no... It appears...I-I w-was mistaken....S-sorry..." she said quietly.

Tsukinami growled, "Stupid girl! Causing trouble in my Teahouse! And coming after my sister! Is sorry all you have to say to me?"

Hinata took a step back, "I'm sorry! I thought you were someone else!"

"Do you think being a ninja gives you the right to do whatever you want!?"

"P-please calm down! You're o-overreacting!"

"Shut up you stupid wretch! You don't deserve to talk to me that way!"

And that's when something in Hinata's mind went _snap. _Rage flooded her thoughts and her body, making her tense and grip Insanity so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her voice seemed to swell with the rage, becoming sharp and loud, "I"M THE WRETCH!?" Dance of Insanity seemed to pulse, like the beating of a heart. Hinata's own heart was beating erratically, but soon it calmed down and matched Insanity's.

Hinata's voice became soft, but still very sharp, "You dare call _me _the wretch? You dare tell me that I don't deserve to speak to you in that way? You're the whore. You're the one who doesn't deserve to speak to me. I'm a Hyuuga, and what are you? You are nothing!," Hinata's words dripped with venom.

She regarded Tsukinami as though she was looking at a pile of garbage. This woman truly thought she was better than her? This woman was in denial! She took a step toward her and watched both girls shrink back.

Miki cringed when Hinata unsheathed Insanity and tossed the scabbard to the side, "Please! Ninja-san! My s-sister h-has a t-t-temper! S-she d-d-didn't mean i-it!" Miki's voice faltered.

Tsukinami did have a temper, and she didn't take too kindly to being called a whore either. Once the shock from Hinata's outburst dissipated, she was quick to take a stab at Hinata with her own words, "You _are _a wretch! How dare you even think to threaten me!? I have money! And I have my beauty! And what does that leave you?" Tsukinami laughed, "Nothing! _You _are nothing! I'll have your superiors beat you and then turn you out of your job! I'll do it if you take one more step toward me with that pathetic sword!"

The pulsing in Insanity's handle quickened, and it seemed Insanity and Hinata's pulse were one as her heart beat raced along with Insanity's. She could also hear her blood as it rushed through her veins filled with rage and adrenalin. To her it sounded like a sort of music, a twisted to tune to which she longed to dance to. She could feel it now, Insanity, her beautiful blade, wanted to dance to the music as well!

Miki the counter girl saw the odd look in Hinata's eyes. She glanced at her sister who had a defiant and proud sneer on her face. She didn't even look back at her sister as she ran past Hinata. Hinata let her go, all she could focus on was that wonderful music. The more she listened the sweeter it sounded!

Tsukinami gave a snort, "What do you plan to do? Kill me? The Anbu from Konoha will have your head!" she smiled and dared Hinata with her eyes to do anything about it.

But Hinata was lost, the music had been simple at first...her heartbeat and Insanity's pulse, her rushing blood... But now, a new beat entered...One that was...out of tune..it seemed to tangle with the melody, causing the once sweet notes to warp and change. Hinata hated it.

She looked around the room. She would stop it, that terrible sound...from ruining her music. Her eyes focused on Tsukinami...her eyes narrowed...it was her heartbeat.. Tsukinami's heartbeat was destroying her sweet melody! But, that could be easily fixed.

As if under a trance, Hinata took a step forward, taking up her blade in both hands and holding it ready to slash down and cut through any foe. Her steps were light. Slowly but surely the music returned to normal, but this time it was even sweeter. Hinata smiled as she listened to the demented music as it seemed to bid her to kill. Each step toward the now cowering Tsukinami made the music better, and brought Tsukinami closer to her demise.

Tsukinami had backed up into a wall. She realized there would be no threatening nor reasoning with the girl before her. She whimpered, releasing with a sudden pang that, there was a good chance her life would end here..And it did.

Before she could even scream Hinata sent Insanity's blade whipping through the air and Tsukinami's throat. A spray of blood coated the wall. Hinata looked at it, still in her trance, and smiled wider. To her hazy mind it looked like a painting of beautiful rose petals. She spun around and hummed to herself. She gracefully danced out the door and down the hall into the lobby.

Some of the men had fled, and the counter girl Miki was nowhere to be seen. The men remaining, about ten of them, stared at Hinata, weapons in there hands. Two of them came forward, a man who looked middle aged but with lively eyes and and an old man with little tufts of gray sticking up from his nearly bald head.

The one with lively eyes pointed a finger at her, "That girl! She must have killed the bitch that sent her servant boy to beat me! That was my kill!" he grounded out, it sounded as if he was trying hard to impress the men behind him.

The old man nodded, "Then we'll take her hostage. Oh, you three, go search for the servant that beat my boy! And be quick about it!"

The three thugs went out to find Toujirou. The others kept their eyes on Hinata, thinking a little girl with sword couldn't possibly trouble them.. They hurled threats and curses at her, lewd and dirty remarks as well. But the girl wasn't listening.

The music had grown sweeter. Hinata could feel it in both her body and Insanity's handle, it was time to dance. The men grew tired of waiting and made their way to her. But then she lifted her blade and made as if to slash. One of the men growled and grabbed for her arm. She spun suddenly and slit his throat and slashed across the face of a man near him, robbing him of his sight. Blood spurted from the man as he fell backward, covering Hinata's right side. The other men yelled in outrage and rushed her. But she danced.

Blade slashing out, screams of pain, fountains of blood spurting from wounds. Then, metal against metal, a slash, more blood. Hinata was covered from head to toe in it. But still she sent her blade out and in sweeping arcs and graceful twirls, she cut them, she slashed at them, she spilled their blood upon the ground. All to the tune of the music in her head. Even the man with lively eyes and the old man fell to her feet.

When finally her foes were felled and none left to kill, she stopped. Still in a trance she looked at her sword and let out a squeal of delight. Her once tarnished blade of silver now shone brighter than the day she found it. Red dripped of it and joined to pools on ground. Now her trance started leave her, and with a confused moan she fell to ground, or really, onto the pile of dead which she had created. All because of that bewitching tune....

* * *

Hello! Again!.... How was it? And I know this really didn't explain why everyone was being mean to Hinata and all that but that will come in time.. And do not look for speedy updates from me now that school has started and is in full swing, but I will finish this story! That I swear on Madara's sexiness!

Oh, and you know what would really make me feel better? And try to write more? And update faster? **Reviews! **Yes, since not many people seem to like to bother to review, I have decided that until I get five I won't post the next chap (note: this may or may not be a lie to get more reviews)

And again a big thanks to Darky-chan!

I hope you enjoyed! **Please leave a review! **


	4. Another Side

I'm back!!! Omg, please please please please please forgive me for the whole not-updating-in-forever thing! My computer was broken, some assfaced hacker got into my computer, had to wipe the hardrive, had (and still am) trouble getting things back in working order on my laptop, the hardrive's appearently full but I had 3 times the number of programs and crap on here and was no where close to it being filled.... *sigh* I hope you all can forgive me.. TT_TT

I feel like I've failed in a way, not updating like that must've got rid off most of my readers....and since my computer's been crap I haven't written anything in long while so I think I've gotten a lot worse (so please excuse the crappiness of this chappie) .... To those of you that stayed, thank you.

And this is an incomplete chapter, the one I had planned was much much longer but I thought I should put up what I have to show peeps I'm not gone....

So, without further rambling and excuses, the next chapter of A Whisper in the Mind~

* * *

Tsunade was seated at her desk, the normally cluttered desktop had but one paper on it. A letter. A threat. Tsunade rubbed her temples.

_We know what happened to Kusami. We found her. _

Tsunade closed her eyes. The few Anbu she trusted were told to kill Kusami. They were told to burn the body and scatter the ashes. It wasn't an impossible task, they were Anbu after all. And they reported back to her that Kusami had indeed been killed, her body burned. The girl would not compromise the project. But _they _said otherwise. _They _found her. _They_ knew about Project Nine. But how?

_We could not help but feel sorry for you, and we decided that we would not let you go on thinking as you do. You think your Anbu loyal, all of them dedicated to you. But if that were true we wouldn't know of poor Kusami. If it helps ease your mind, she is dead. Killed by your Anbu. But we still have her body. And her corpse told us much._

Tsunade stared at the paper, it arrived this morning, delivered at the village gate. The man who delivered it was not seen. It simply said to be given to the Hokage. The letter had a seal on it, which the senders must have assumed that she know how to break. She did. But it was such a strange seal, rarely seen anywhere because of the sheer amount of chakra needed to place it. But Tsunade was grateful. No one could know about Project Nine.

_It was not that one or all of your Anbu work for us, but that we contacted one we knew was weak. Do not try to find our informer, you will fail. We are simply concerned for you and you alone Tsunade. _

Eyes closed, Tsunade leaned back into her chair. _They _knew her name. But she didn't know _them. _

_Dearest Tsunade, we know you may be quick to think of us as one of your enemies. We know you may think we are with the Akatsuki, or even with Orochimaru. But we are not. We have no desire to help your enemies nor do we wish to harm your village. It's you. We want you. For power such as yours, having it be lost to Yodo would be a shame._

Not only did they know about Project Nine they knew about Yodo's power. And they seemed to know more about her power than Tsunade did.

_Now Tsunade, you may have many questions. We know this will worry you. But we are watching you. If you should ever desire more than this pathetic village, with its ungrateful people and wretched ninja, then we have a place for you. If you accept then keep the letter on your person rather than burning it with the reports from Project Nine. However, as we've observed you over the months, since your starting of Project Nine we have come to the conclusion that you have fallen under Yodo's power and now follow your impulses. We implore you to stop going to the facilities that house Yodo. Although the damage may have been done it is still reversible at this point in time._

It was insulting, that these people had been watching her and only now did they step forward. But Tsunade was more angry at herself than anything. How could she not notice that she was being observed? That there was someone watching her for months!? Perhaps even now there might be invisible spies in this very room! But they gave her some very interesting information..

_If it will help stop you from going to see Yodo, then we are ready to to tell you some very important things. Firstly, you are correct about Yodo's powers altering the thought process. If you wish to learn how, then join us, we have reason to believe you posses the potential to learn how to use the power yourself. But, if you don't join us then you are not allowed access to such knowledge._

Allowed? She was the Hokage! What wouldn't she be allowed to know!? Who are these people? Tsunade's mind was reeling.

_ Second, Yodo's power encourages desires, habits, and actions, the affected person would normally suppress. Things like saying what's on your mind without regards to the other person/persons' feelings, breaking rules one would normally follow, killing for any reason, and in your case; making decisions based on what you want rather than thinking of the consequences. Acting on impulses. It does the this by using a 'reassuring' thought._

This Tsunade hadn't heard of. The more she read the more worried she became.

_That thought will appear whenever you have an impulse that you question. For an example, if you want to kill someone then "it will help my training" or a modified version of one "it won't hurt anybody, this person deserved to die" There is so much more to this power and so much more we can offer you. You have so much potential Tsunade, do not waste it. We anxiously await your response. _

And it ended. That was it. It made bile to rise in the back of Tsunade's throat. She had gone into the project with the thought that _it would help the village._ Even before the experiment with that little girl she had become unsure and doubted the project's usefulness and it's humaneness. And yet that thought; _it would help the village_, kept her going. Had she really fallen under Yodo's influence that easily? She didn't even realize it.

Tsunade thought back to the girl. She just kept coughing..more blood...pleading for her to help...and tears... The other two girls who had known her had been unsympathetic to poor girl, all one of them cared about was Yodo and the other simply ignored her.

That girl had kept pleading to Tsunade then, begging...._ "Please-" _interrupted by fits of coughs _"I-it hurts-" _crying out hoarsely _"Please! Help me! Pleas-" _coughing and spitting up mouthful after mouthful of blood. She was so young! Tsunade couldn't stand it! She did try to help the girl. She had spent hours pouring her chakra into her in an effort to fix the poor girl's lungs and throat. But the other two...they continued to experiment on her! They told her it would be done soon! And damn her for believing them!

That thought...that damned thought...convinced her to let them hurt her! The poor girl had been in so much pain! But at least she had healed her little before she escaped with the other two girls. Tsunade whimpered, her eyes stung as tears ran down her cheeks. Damn her! Damn the project! Damn Ikari and Jirouku! Damn them all to hell! She wouldn't allow this to go on anymore. That letter, disturbing as it was, opened her eyes. She was being controlled. And that wouldn't help the village at all.

_But the village! If I can find a way to control Yodo I can save countless lives from war! _

"But at what cost!?" she asked standing up.

_It's for the greater good! _The voice in her mind retorted.

"So where the wars! And look at what good came of those!" she put her hands on her head.

_The village-_

"SHUT UP YODO!" Tsunade screamed. This voice had no place within her, it was not her's. Even though she desired dearly to find a way to stop the bloodshed and explore uses for Yodo's powers, it would not be this way.

The voice did not speak again.

Shizune banged on the door, "Lady Tsunade!!! What is it!!? Lady Tsunade!" She tried opening the door only to find it locked.

"Bring me Ikari and Jirouku!" she hissed. Project Nine would end, the experiments, the research, all of it. With a sudden jolt, Tsunade realized she had become like Orochimaru.

"Y-yes Lady Hokage!" Shizune's footsteps suggested she was hurrying to find the two. Tsunade took a deep breath, Shizune was the most loyal person in the world to her. Not even questioning the sudden outburst. And for that she was grateful- no, beyond grateful.

It would be hard for Shizune to find Ikari and Jirouku. Those two were always hidden away somewhere. It gave Tsunade time to think. What else had she been so stupid to believe? After a moment it came to her. The Hyuuga girl.

The Hyuuga girl, Hinata, had been falling behind. She had improved according to the records but she was still behind all the other ninja in several areas. Her father had asked Tsunade to talk to her, and Tsunade had thought that she would give the girl advice to help her, maybe even a checkup to see if there was something holding her back or something she had the physical capability to excel in. But Hiashi had told her that that would only make it worse. He told her Hinata would need to be shaken up with the cold hard facts, that she was weak and holding her team back.

At first Tsunade had been against it. She was certain that wouldn't help the girl. But Hiashi had said, "She needs to know what's wrong with her. It's not enough. She needs to get stronger. I told her sensei to do the same thing and Hinata did work harder after that. But it's still not enough, she's still behind. I thought a talk from you would help her understand that."

Tsunade had believed him. It had been hard to tell the girl those words. She could feel the edges of her mouth twitching when she stopped talking to her. Hinata looked so broken and hurt. She wanted to tell her it would be okay, it would turn out fine, she could get stronger, it wasn't impossible! But she had been stupid and didn't. She remained quiet even when Hinata was leaving the room, the sadness radiating off of her. Tsunade cursed herself. She was stupid. She would call Hinata in and give her that check up, she would even tell her about her sensei.

Kurunai had confessed to Tsunade that it was hard to follow Hiashi's orders. She could just barely keep herself from trying to reassure her each time. Tsunade had agreed, telling her about how her mouth twitched when she spoke to her. Kurunai said the same thing happened a few weeks later after Hinata's talk with Tsunade. This time Hinata looked to be in such pain that she almost couldn't keep her words in. She also said it just about killed her when Hinata collapsed onto the ground crying.

Tsunade wiped her eyes. She would help that Hyuuga girl once she finished destroying Project Nine. As she turned to face the door a smooth voice called to her, "You wished to see me my Lady?"

An irritated shrill voice answered, "Us! You idiot! Us! Ahem- Lady Tsunade we're here."

Ikari and Jirouku. Jirouku was the one who spoke first, he was young man around Shizune's age and was always very....odd. Tsunade couldn't really describe him as anything other than strange. He acted sweet to Tsunade one minute, and cursed her the next. But he always was sweet to Shizune. Then there was Ikari, she was about ten years older than Jirouku. Ikari was cold and cruel, she was the one that brought Project Nine to the Tsunade's attention.

Tsunade unlocked the door and led them in. Ikari pushed Jirouku aside and went to stand in the middle of the room. She wore plain black pants and sandals with a light gray shirt and fishnet gloves. Her dark green hair went down to her knees and ended in a jagged curtain.

Jirouku went to stand by the side of Tsunade's desk. He wore a kimono the color of dried blood with black hakama and a dark blue obi. His shoulder-length blue hair was curled at the ends but his bangs hung just above his eyes like icicles. Both had eerie yellow eyes.

Tsunade noticed Shizune was nowhere to be seen. She assumed she had other errands to run. She shut the door and locked it. She turned around and looked at them.

"We're idiots," Tsunade choked out, "All this time, she was..." Tsunade closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, "We were all so stupid! How could we think that she wouldn't mess with us too? Stupid!"

Jirouku took the letter off the desk and skimmed over it, "Ikari-san...Someone's getting in our way...." he looked up to see a surprised Tsunade and a scowling Ikari.

Ikari shrugged, "Doesn't matter, it will appear in the forest soon. And we have her already."

Jirouku frowned, "What about the little ones? In the forest all on their own?"

"The traitor is with them."

Tsunade clenched her fist, "What the hell are you talking about? We have things to do!"

Jirouku set the letter down, "Sweet Tsunade-san, are you afraid of her? Yodo is locked up you know."

Tsunade bit her lip. That was not the first time he addressed her as such. But after he did... "I've just..." his eyes were changing "The project is...." he was coming toward her "....It's finished!"

Jirouku stopped and glanced at Ikari, "Finished? Tsunade-san, after all the progress we made-"

"We didn't make any progress! We didn't do anything! We just hurt those poor girls!"

"Do you worry for the little ones? Motherly." He smiled.

Tsunade sneered, "Shut up Jirouku! This has to be done! We-"

Ikari waved a hand at Jirouku, "This was...unavoidable..as you said. But now we only need to wait...Take care of her and be done with it."

Jirouku still had his soft smile when he turned and grabbed a startled Tsunade by the neck, "Shhh....no need to worry....You won't be killed..." he whispered, lifting her off the ground with both hands around her neck.

"Ack-! Ba-ugh-bastar-dss! Augh-" was all Tsunade could say before she blacked out.

Jirouku looked over at Ikari who was reading Tsunade's letter, "Should we take her with us?"

"...No, but drop her off at Yodo's cell. I'm sure the bitch would love something to take her anger out on."

"Ah...such cruelty from her Highness...just like the old days..." Jirouku murmured more to himself than anyone else.

Ikari glared at him, "Quiet! You know that name is not to be used!"

"Forgive me...Ikari-sama," Jirouku bowed his head.

"Did you take care of the servant the girl?"

Jirouku thought a moment, "Yes..Shizune-kun is...no longer a bother..."

"Did you kill her?"

"Yes," Jirouku said a little too quickly.

Ikari eyed him for a minute, "Where's her body?"

"In the forest, whoever finds her will suspect an enemy ninja,"

Ikari grunted, "Get going," she promptly pulled out a lighter from her pants pocket and lit the letter in her hand, "_They_ have no business here," she growled angrily.

~~~~~~~At the Teahouse

Scenes danced through Hinata's mind. Terrible and violent, bloody yet somehow....beautiful. Graceful movements, a silver slash and then a spurt of crimson...another slash...more red....and more...and more....and more....and more... Screams of pain ringing in her ears..her vision filled with streaks of silver and red.....so much red...

Then...silence.

The stench of rot filled her nose. And her stomach turned with a sudden sick realization that it was a scene of death. The image of pale bloodstained hands holding the handle of a shining silver blade made her shake.

Then her eyes opened, staring up at an off-white ceiling. The images lingered, the screams gone, the smell of decay stronger than before. She sat up and looked at what had been her mattress. With a gasp of horror she stood up and stumbled away from the bodies. Their vacant stares seemed fixated on her. She backed up to the wall.

Only when she heard the smack of metal against wood did she remember that Insanity was in her hand. It took her a while to tear her eyes away from the blade, it was practically glowing. She cast around for the sheath, ignoring the dead. After finding it under the body of one rather old man she made her way to exit. She couldn't stop from trembling nor could she stop herself from looking back at mass murder she knew she had committed.

_What have I done!? Why did I do this!? _She screamed at herself in her mind. She didn't remember the bewitchingly sweet wicked music. But she did remember was the overwhelming satisfaction of beheading Tsukinami.... She stopped a few feet from the door and then quickly shot back in. She hadn't noticed it before but she was covered in blood, and some of it was still wet.

Hinata started to tremble. The sick smell of death clung to her skin, her clothes, her sword... The air in the room was cold, she felt the eyes of the deceased staring up at her through cloudy dead eyes. Hinata retreated to a room in the back, away from the bodies. Stinging tears traced a familiar path down her cheeks. She found herself in the Sunset Room, the one where she first met Tsukinami... She curled up in a ball in the corner, holding on to her beautifully Insanity...

He had heard the screams, saw the bodies, saw his employer's head detached from her neck, saw the killer, even saw where the "cold blooded" killer went to hide and weep. And it amused him to no end. He waited for a minute or two, listening to the crazy girl cry about the killings she earlier had found so enjoyable. He finally slipped through the door and stood over her.

She should've sensed him, his weak chakra was the only other signature there. And yet she was surprised to look up at him, surprised and scared.

Toujirou smiled, "Had a nice chat Tsuki-san?" his laughter echoed around the empty room.

* * *

Maybe it's not so incomplete...just a cliffhanger...sort of....um...

Please Review or pm me..........like, just so I know peeps aren't mad at me or anything, or to show me if I've gotten worse, or if you're confused about something please let me know so I can help~

Again, thanks-! And I'm sorry! I'll try not get hacked again! (and maybe track down the guy that did that and bludgeon him with my keyboard!!! Or lock him in a room with Hinata and Insanity and play some music...sorry, that was crappy joke -_-*.....but I will bludgeon that bastard with my keyboard if I find him/her :(


	5. Pieces Falling into Place

Where oh where to begin...

Firstly, I'm back! Sorry about kind of lying in my last chappie about this not happening again... But, I learned something. Cat Hair can make computers stop working and the people who fix computers take a really long time. That's only part of what happened though; School stuff was going on, I slipped into a little writer's depression for a bit, family crisis, got shipped off to Florida for a visit with the relatives...but the computer and the depression was really what got me.

I've got lots of stuff to say, but I'll leave that for the bottom AN. Also, **Madara is in this chapter! Finally! **

Okay, **Please enjoy the chapter!** And excuse any mistakes; I wanted to upload this as soon as possible and couldn't wait for my beta.

* * *

Hinata's eyes zeroed in on the head of Tsukinami. Toujirou held it by the hair, the eyes wide open, still holding the fear she had experienced before death. Toujirou chuckled and tossed it away carelessly. Hinata found herself unable to move, to speak, to breathe.

He crouched down before her, still smiling, and extended a hand toward her, "Come now Miss, you took on all those people, what have you got fear from me?"

Hinata swallowed hard, "W-what d-d-do you w-w-want?"

He pulled his hand away, "Nothing actually, at least, nothing you can give me."

Hinata watched him stand up and make as if to leave, but he stopped and suddenly aimed a vicious kick to her head. Hinata's trained body moved on instinct, throwing herself to the side. Toujirou ended up striking the wall while she recovered quickly and used the butt of her sword to hit his stomach. The blow knocked the wind out him but he wasn't down. Stumbling backward he dodged a punch from Hinata who tried again and this time connected with his face, knocking him backward. Then she unsheathed her sword and swiped at his legs. Toujirou manged to do an awkward hop back and avoid her blade, and then a more coordinated one when she tried again. He lunged forward at her but she caught him under the chin with a left-handed uppercut and then a kick to the stomach that sent him back head over heels and into the hallway were he sped off and got away before she could react.

Hinata was left breathing hard and scared. Scared of Toujrou, scared of herself. She felt horrendously pathetic, weak, and guilty. She turned suddenly- noticing the closet in the wall, and went to find new clothes. After slipping them on she left the Teahouse and wordlessly headed back home.

The forest's canopy concealed the silver full moon that ruled the sky. A figure wrapped in a tight cloak wandered though the dark forest, following no particular path. His face was hidden by both the shadows and the cloak's hood. He stopped, tasting the sweet night air. He cocked his head to one side, listening. Yes, he had heard right, the sound of heavy footfalls propelled by pure adrenaline crunching leaves and twigs.

Toujirou laughed as he raced away from the Teahouse. What an insane little girl! Pretending to be all sweet and timid but he had seen her true colors! He had honestly been afraid when he stumbled upon the shredded bodies of the gang he'd pissed off and Tsukinami. He couldn't help but wonder what possessed the strange girl to suddenly start acting all timid and weak rather than kill him. _I'm smarter than the others, _he thought gleefully, _I knew better than to stay and find out! _

As he crashed though the quiet forest he decided she wasn't following him. He stopped and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. He glanced up- the tall trees' outlines were hardly visible in the darks, and hanging in the air like some kind of demon were ghastly glowing red eyes. Toujirou about choked on his own spit when the eyes narrowed. With a terrified scream he stumbled backward and ran.

Madara chuckled quietly to himself. He licked his lips, he could taste it in the crisp air, the unmistakable sickly-sweet taste of blood. He knew that taste quite well. A light breeze rustled the leaves above him. Madara closed his eyes and envisioned Konoha's elite scattered on the ground in pools of their own sweet blood. He opened his eyes, a vicious smile gracing his perfect lips, someday soon, Konoha would finally cease to be.

Hinata had wrapped her bloodied clothes in a towel. She hugged the bundle tightly to her chest. Wearing a hideously bright orange robe she prayed silently that she could get back to her home without anyone noticing. Her eyes glanced wearily at each shadow, would that madman Toujirou attack her again? She decided it wasn't out of revenge for his boss, the way he carelessly tossed her head aside suggested her life meant little to him.

Hinata's mind played over the day repeatedly in her mind. She couldn't have actually...not her...anyone but her... But the facts remained- it was _her _hands that were bloodied, it was _her _sword that had taken their lives. She was adamant to never return to the Teahouse if possible. It was a place with unfavorable clientèle so perhaps people would overlook the fact she had a recent mission there.

But suppose they didn't... What could her excuse be? She was attacked? But then why didn't she report it? Say she did report it to avoid it being found by someone else, would they look to her then? Or would she be punished for using excessive force? Would the Anbu and the Hokage even care? As of late they've been preoccupied with other things, just look at the skyrocketing crime rate in Konoha as evidence. But someone would care, right? Hinata had brutally massacred those people, surely that couldn't go unpunished?

_But I live with knowledge that I did do it, _she thought. But that was hardly justice, or was it? Insanity was clutched in her right hand. Was it the sword that caused this? Or would that be an excuse for her own depravity? Hinata stopped dead in her tracks.

It was immeasurably strong, the chakra signature, dark and intimidating as well. She took a deep breath and scanned the dark trees for the owner. She could feel someone's eyes boring into her back. She turned around.

He had been lost in his beautifully twisted thoughts of revenge as he walked. He only noticed the girl a second before she sensed him. He guessed she was a Hyuuga, he had caught a glimpse of her eyes when she glanced back at him. He was surprised, the girl's face was smudged with blood, her sword in one delicate bloodied hand, pale white skin with splashes of dark crimson, she appeared to be an angel of death, a shinigami in the guise of a young woman. It made him chuckle at the thought.

He was tall, with strong broad shoulders and powerful lithe muscles. From what she could see of his hair, it was short and black, but it had a look about it that suggested it had once been much longer and then hastily hacked off. And then the eyes, familiar yet seeing them here was...out of place.

Byakugan met Sharingan. A second of silence passed before Hinata just dropped the bundle of ruined clothes. The man felt a smirk tug at his lips, she was the indeed the source of that sweet blood. She held a sword in one hand, holding on with the tips of her fingers as she stared at him wordlessly. It was oh so familiar...from some time long ago...

Madara could see it before him, the casualties sprawled out on the battlefield, ground stained that dark red that he knew all too well, and the lingering scent of smoke and death that hung thickly in the air. That woman he'd met that day, appearing out of nowhere, holding that sword, but it wasn't the Hyuuga before him. No, this woman, he remembered seeing her dark green hair blowing in some wind he couldn't feel and eerie yellow eyes boring into him complimented by a wicked smile.

He snapped back to the present. The Hyuuga and the Uchiha stood only a few feet apart, just staring. Hinata felt a shiver run up her back, this man just exuded an aura of death. Not only that but she was hearing things now, a strong beating, as well as her own fluttering heart.

_What is this? This...is it? Insanity? _She felt the beating in Insanity, but somehow it did not come from her sword. She stared at the man, her eyes widening, _It's...his heartbeat..?_ Insanity pulsed along side the man's heart, and for a reason Hinata was not sure of, she found it to be the most beautiful sound in the world. She shivered again, it felt so familiar and close, she could almost remember something as sweet as it but the memory faded quickly. She knew it made no sense yet she felt privileged to be allowed to be in this man's presence, allowed to listen to his perfect heartbeat.

Madara asked himself what he should do with the Hyuuga. He could kill her, easy and simple. Yet her sword drew his eye. He was certain that woman all those years ago had it, but he felt this girl before him to be entirely different. _What to do, what to do... _he mused to himself.

He found it odd that the girl just watched him. He sensed no fear from her. Nervous, but no fear... He took a step forward, she didn't move, just stared at him with those pale, white eyes.

"It's a bit late to be out, isn't Hyuuga?"

She jumped slightly, falling out of the trance that his heartbeat had put her under. She was quiet for a minute, now concentrating on his voice, deep, melodic, smooth...it complemented his heart perfectly. She blinked before realizing a question had been asked, "I-I u-um we-well I..." she stuttered, looking down at the ground, feeling unworthy of his attention. But in the back of her mind she was asking herself _What's with these thoughts? How am I even hearing his heart?_

Madara took another step, "Perhaps I should walk you home?"

He wouldn't of course, he couldn't get too close to Konoha. But he did wish to find out more about that katana of her's. She hesitated before nodding, then quickly retrieved her bundle of clothes. They walked slowly in the general direction of Konoha, the wind tussling their hair.

He glanced at her, "May I have your name, Hyuuga-sama?"

She looked up from her feet suddenly, "H-H-Hinata!" she looked away, ashamed for being so socially awkward.

He chuckled, "I'm Madara," he decided she wouldn't know of him. It was unlikely he was in the history books.

Hinata bit her lip, her eyes flicking nervously over to him and then back to her feet, "I...u-um...I don't...m-mean t-t-to pry but...aren't you...a-an U-Uchiha?" she regretted the question, suddenly feeling impossibly stupid.

"Yes."

She looked up, "O-oh?"

He smiled at her, "I'm assuming that you're thinking of the Massacre. Correct?"

"I..I..y-yes..I'm s-sorry I shouldn't have-"

"It's understandable. You're curious, so I'll tell you I haven't had contact with the Uchihas for quite some time. I haven't been back to Konoha in awhile," he wasn't worried she'd say anything to the Anbu or Hokage, it was apparent she'd done something horrific and would most likely be avoiding them for awhile. Besides that, he could easily kill her.

"I..um...d-do y-ou know...S-S-Sasuke?" she didn't want to be rude but she was desperate to make this man talk more. His voice was just so sweet, like honey, slowly washing over her with it's perfection. A part of her was vaguely aware this sudden fixation on some stranger's voice was odd, and perhaps even a bad sign, yet she could only listen as his voice serenaded her once more.

"No, I can't say that I have. I assume he was someone you knew prior to the Massacre and you have hopes he lives?" It was lie of course. He knew Sasuke, not personally but through Itachi. He was the little brother Itachi couldn't kill. Thinking about it sent a flash of Izuna though his mind but he ignored it.

"N-No..Sasuke s-s-survived. Um..."

"Oh? That's good to hear. I've thought I was the last of the family."

Hinata frantically tried to think of something to say, anything to make this man continue talking but he did that for her, "So, you're a Hyuuga? Are you part of the main branch?"

"I-I..y-y-yes," Hinata heard a warning go off in her head, _he might kidnap you, he might want you for ransom, _but the part of Hinata that was in control thought that would only allow her to be with this perfect man awhile longer.

They both suddenly stopped, listening to the agonized scream that tore through the night. Hinata's eye twitched, "H-Hanabi?"

In a second she was a blur, bundle dropped, sword held tight in her hands. With her Byakugan activated she was searching the area for her sister's chakra signature and praying that she wouldn't find it. Madara had waited before following after her, the hood of his cloak blown back as he caught up the distraught Hyuuga. He could see the chakra signature of two ninjas, but whether or not one was this Hanabi Hinata was looking for he could not be certain.

Hardly half a minute went by before Hinata was close enough to see with her own eyes what she had feared. It was Hanabi, her dear little sister, curled up on the ground. _Why is she here! Why did she come out here! _Hinata landed on her knees painfully next her little sister, tears already burning her eyes, "H-Hanabi! Hanabi what happened! Hanabi!"

A pained moan, "S-sister?"

Madara stood behind Hinata, he assumed the relationship the second he saw the younger girl's face. Hinata was brushing the hair out of her sister's eyes, "It'll be okay Hanabi, I'll take you home and it'll be okay!" she didn't stutter but her voice was wavering as she tried to choke back tears.

Hanabi was clutching her side, there was no blood or obvious wounds but that didn't rule out a jutsu. Her eyes opened a little as she looked up to Hinata, "S-sister? I-I'm s-s-sorry...I..ah.."

"Hanabi, it's okay! Just tell me what happened, if you can okay? I'm going to take care of you!"

Hinata removed her sister's hand from her side and inspected the wound. She couldn't see any obvious damage.

"N-no! S-sister the-"

"Sh! Hanabi, please just tell me who attacked you."

Madara felt an odd pang in his chest and another memory of Izuna flashed before his eyes. "_M-Madara! I- my leg hurts so badly! What just- gah!" Attacked in the forest...poisoned kunai... "Brother! Please! I- I'm scared!" About the same age as this girl...so long ago..._

Hinata didn't know much about healing, nor did she have any idea about what jutsu was used on her poor sister. She felt so useless as she tried to reassure her sister, wondering if she could carry her to Konoha without causing further harm.

Madara shook himself out of the memory, but the feeling of Izuna's presence remained. He glanced around, who ever attacked the girl was fast and long gone now. He gently nudged Hinata over and examined her wound. A jutsu was used, he noted, he wasn't sure of what kind but he knew how to neutralize the effects.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Healing her."

He didn't blame her for being upset, he used to be protective of Izuna as well. He set his hands on the wound and began pouring some of his chakra into her. Hinata watched half worried and half relieved as the man's hands took on a blue glow. The pained expression on Hanabi's face lessened after a minute.

Hinata cradled her head, "Hanabi..I'm so sorry I wasn't there...I should have noticed...I-"

"Sister..no...I was just...looking..for you. The Hokage...she...was attacked...the mansion is burning...I..ahn!" she winced and Madara mumbled an "almost done".

Hinata stayed quiet, not sure what to do. _Is it about Project Nine?Or is something else? No, this has to be about the project.._

"Hanabi...the person that attacked you..what did he look like?"

"...short hair...about the same...color as yours...he was pale..very pale.."

Hinata felt a surge of anger. Nobuyuki.

Hanabi looked over at the other person who was with her sister. She saw two men, the older looking one with shorter hair was healing her, and the younger one was kneeling beside him smiling at her, "Everything will be alright," the young man said.

She nodded to him and he smiled wider, it was comforting.

Madara stopped the flow of his chakra and removed his hands, "She needs rest."

Hinata turned to him, "T-Thank you so much! I don't know how I can repay you!"

"...it's nothing.."

Hinata carefully lifted her sister up while holding onto Insanity. She looked at Madara once more before running off toward Konoha. All the while she could only think of how truly perfect that man was; his heartbeat, his voice, he was even so kind as to help her sister! Yes, Hinata was indeed blessed to have met that flawless man.

By the time the Hyuugas got back to Konoha the flames had been put out. But Hinata took her sister home before she went to see the Hokage. No one was around the Hyuuga Compound so Hinata set her little sister down in her bed with orders to rest.

Hanabi grabbed her sister's sleeve before she left, "Tell those men thank you! And...this is an ugly kimono..."

Hinata smiled, "I will...and I know..I'm glad you're feeling better. Now lay down and rest."

As Hinata closed the door she stopped and thought to herself, _men? But Madara was the only one there.. Perhaps a hallucination..._

She swallowed hard as she began walking briskly toward her room. How did she not notice her poor little sister being attacked so close to her? Hinata briefly wondered if Nobuyuki was to blame, but as she thought of him her thoughts turned to the rest of Project Nine. The little girls, it might have been them too, or perhaps someone under the influence of that woman..._what was her name?...oh..right Yodo.. _Hinata remembered all she learned about Yodo, the woman who could somehow change peoples' thoughts...including the Hokage...and her's...

Hinata ignored the pang in her chest and went to go change clothes. As she walked her thoughts drifted back to the voice she'd heard in her head, _why not? _Was Yodo trying to force her to take over Konoha? Why would she do that if she already had the Hokage under her thumb? Hinata's grip on Insanity tightened, that wouldn't make sense. What did make sense was the idea that part of those thoughts were actually hers and Yodo had only helped them come to light.

_…_ _I could still take over Konoha...if I could just find out a little more about Project Nine... But- would that be right? What would taking over Konoha accomplish? _

As she found her way back outside she became aware that it was deserted. All the streets were empty...most likely to go see the burning mansion. She started to walk home, drifting back into her thoughts. She was thinking mainly about what she would do with Konoha, if taking revenge for her treatment throughout life was worth the risks. She was still undecided by the time she got home.

-Out in Forest-

Out in the forest Madara had perched in a tree to observe the black smoke twisting upwards into the sky. It appeared to come from somewhere within the the village. He began fantasizing about burning Konoha down to the ground and watching from the wall tops.

Somewhere below him were two chakra signatures that he'd been half observing. They didn't seem particularly strong nor did they appear to notice them. What Madara didn't know was that it was Jirouku and an unconscious Shizune.

Jirouku hadn't killed her, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He was quite fond of the medic ninja. Actually, it was more than a fondness, it was more like an obsession. She was beautiful, he couldn't fathom how that wretched old hag could've forced her to work her pretty little hands off like she did. He'd been watching life in Konoha go on for some time since the disastrous ending of Project Seven. He'd been watching all the people who seemed to be of importance, as the Hokage's personal assistant, Shizune was deemed one of them.

But Jirouku had watched her a little more than was necessary, even to the point of following her home and watching her sleep. He wasn't being perverted, he was just contemplating the idea of bringing her back home to father his children.

He thought of this as he carried his soon-to-be wife away from the village. He was trying to imagine what the children would like, he hoped they'd look like their mother, but even if they didn't they'd still be perfect since their mother was Shizune. After giving up on imaging what they'd look like her started to wonder about their names. He decided Shizune could name the girls and he'd name the boys.

-Back in Konoha-

Sakura had hidden in her house after seeing the flames of the burning mansion put out. There was something horribly wrong going on, besides the attack on the Hokage who was still missing. She'd become of aware of odd changes in her behavior that Sai had pointed out after the incident with Ino. Once she realized she was acting strangely she began noticing that the way Naruto was acting was incredibly bizarre.

It just didn't make sense, where were these thoughts coming from? The way she acted toward Ino...and every one else... She suddenly remembered Hinata, she had actually made Hinata hit her. Hinata, the sweetest, most innocent ninja in the entire village. Sakura looked at her hands, _this...this isn't me..._

She looked up at her ceiling, "Maybe I need to take a walk...clear my head..."

She was soon walking through the deserted streets towards the village gate.

-Out in the Forest-

Ikari wasn't pleased. She'd run into that damned girl again, that Tsukiko child. Just before torching the Hokage's mansion she appeared and told Ikari something disturbing. Her sword had made it's way back to this world, and into the hands of a ninja no less.

Aside from being irked about her servant running off on his own errands she now had to worry about getting her katana back to the other world. If she didn't, Tsukiko's sister would find it, and Ikari couldn't let that happen.

_It doesn't matter, Insanity will find it's way back to my hands again, it always does... _

As she crunched the leaves underfoot she went through a mental check list of everything that needed to happen; _Wake Yodo- done, test power- done, prepare to open The Gate- done...now, what else is there... Oh, right...prevent _them_ from interfering, retrieve my sword, dispose of the little brats, open the Gate...so much left to do..._ She grumbled curses under her breath as she walked, intent on finding where Jirouku had run off to so the rest could be done.

-In the streets of Konoha-

Hinata was dressed fresh clothes now, a simple shirt, jacket, and pants. She hadn't donned her headband, she didn't see the need to have it with her. She continued to carry around Dance of Insanity, now seeing the sword as her weapon. She had originally planned to head to the Hokage's but as she was walking she noticed a familiar pink haired kunoichi heading toward the village gate. Curious, Hinata followed.

Sakura seemed oblivious to everything but her own thoughts, she even stumbled over her feet every once in a while. Hinata continued following her, wondering if she was being directed by Yodo to do something. Soon they were at the village gate. Sakura continued on through into the forest and after a moment of deliberation Hinata went after her. She figured that she could do this quickly and then get back to the mansion.

-Back in the Forest-

Madara had watched as Jirouku stashed Shizune behind a nearby tree just as an odd green haired woman showed up. He raised his eyebrows; he wasn't even really hiding himself that well, how was it that neither of them noticed his presence?

Ikari's shrill voice made Madara wince, "Jirouku! Where in the hell have you been!"

"Ah, I was just making sure that the little ones weren't still around. We don't want them to follow us now do we?"

Ikari snorted, "We'll have to worry about those brats later. Right now my sword is in this world. Tsuki has most likely picked up the trail by now! We need to get back to the castle, summon it now."

"By Ikari-sama the ritual isn't ready for that yet and we still-"

"I don't care! We'll return in a few days but I need to rest or the encounter with those bastards or Tsuki will likely kill me."

Jirouku titled his head to the side, "...You agreed to meet _them?_"

Ikari shrugged, "Had I agreed or not wouldn't have made any difference. They are aware we disposed of Tsunade, they were planning on using her. After they lost control of Yodo they sought a way to end their problems by going to the root."

"They know that you helped Yodo?"

"I'm not sure. They suspect me, hence the meeting. But it doesn't matter. Let's go already."

"Of course my lady, it will only take a few minutes to ready the Gate," Jirouku said with a bow.

Madara's interest was piqued. Wasn't Tsunade the name of the current Hokage? Is that what the smoke from before was? Madara could only wonder. He continued to watch as the man called Jirouku began slowly making the hand signs to a jutsu. The sharingan swirled in his eyes as he watched, easily memorizing the justu.

As this happened Sakura and Hinata neared the place where Ikari and Jirouku were. Sakura continued to notice nothing while a little behind her Hinata felt the presence of that man, Madara. Her heart fluttered and she blushed, _maybe I could see him again? _She suddenly remembered getting flustered in this way before for someone else, she couldn't recall the face or name, all she could think of was Madara.

Madara felt the two chakra signatures near him. He recognized Hinata's but the other was unfamiliar. Ikari caught sight of Sakura who went on staring into space as she walked. Hinata clutched Insanity tighter, disturbed by the sudden ball of anxiety that had curled up in her stomach.

Hinata hesitated before calling out to Sakura, "S-Sakura-chan! W-w-wait u-up!"

The pink haired kunoichi was snapped out of her trance, "Huh? O-oh! Hinata!" That's when she noticed the woman in front of her.

Hinata rushed to catch up with Sakura who was drawing a kunai. Ikari snarled once she noticed Insanity in Hinata's hands. Jirouku was continuing to perform the hand signs while praying that his beloved Shizune remained unconscious. All the while Madara watched with interest at spectacle going on before him.

Ikari suddenly rushed Hinata, "Give me back my Insanity!"

Hinata drew her sword while Sakura launched a kunai at Ikari, "Hinata! W-what's going on!"

"I-I-"

Jirouku completed the jutsu, "Shinigami Gate: Open!"

The forest was flooded with a blinding light. Madara had tried to teleport away but found himself caught up in light. Hinata felt Insanity pulse in her hand as the light began to shrink back.

And suddenly, they were no longer in the forest.

Hinata was standing in an open, grassy field with gentle, rolling hills spread out as far as she could see. Ikari and Jirouku were gone. Sakura was laying in the grass a few feet away. And standing near her was Madara. Her eyes widened. He looked younger, his hair was longer. She felt a blush spread across her cheeks. He looked beautiful.

Madara's eyes roved over the scene. That woman, Jirouku, and the woman Jirouku had hidden were all gone. He couldn't sense their chakra anywhere. He noticed Hinata staring at him. He turned to speak to her when he heard a clink. He put a hand up to his cloak. But he wasn't wearing his cloak. He was wearing armor...his armor from long, long ago... As he looked down at the familiar red metal a long lock of his hair fell over his eye. His hand went from his chest-plate to his hair. He was silent.

Hinata would've continued staring forever had Sakura not groaned and tried to sit up. Hinata wasn't sure what to do so she went over to help her up. Sakura looked up, blinking groggily, then frowned, "...um...I'm sorry...I..Who...are you?"

Hinata could only stutter, "Sa-Saku...? A-are y-you?"

Sakura blinked again, "Sasaku? ...um...then who am I?" She looked over to Madara, "And who's he?...I'm sorry...I don't remember anything...what happened?"

Hinata felt her head, "Sakura? Are you okay? Don't you remember _anything_?"

Sakura shook her head, "No...just a blinding white light...I'm sorry Sasaku..."

"I'm n-not-"

"Hinata. That woman with green hair, who was she?" Madara was staring at them now.

"I d-don't know. I've never s-s-seen any of those people before..." Hinata looked at Dance of Insanity, _was she Tsuki? Or Tsukiko? The original owner of this sword? _"Madara-sama...what kind of jutsu was that?"

Madara shrugged. He'd gotten over the initial shock quickly. He looked at the sword in Hinata's hand once more. _Yes...it was that woman and that sword I saw that day..._

Sakura got up, "Well...Sasaku-san, Madara-sama...maybe we ought to head to a village? I don't think we should hang out around here much longer."

Hinata glanced over at Madara who nodded. He was curious now, and he didn't have to worry about finding a way back thanks to Jirouku.

Madara lead the way with the girls following behind. Sakura was making idle chat as they walked while Hinata tried to explain to Sakura that her name was not Sasaku but Hinata. Sakura didn't seem to be catching on.

-Back in Konoha-

_ You'll need to go to the other world and confront Ikari. Avoid Tsuki at all costs. She's picked up the trail from Ikari's katana, and her sister is stirring up trouble as well. After losing Tsunade we are left with you, one our loyalist members. We are confident you will succeded._

The Leaf Ninja that this letter was given to sighed, lamenting how much work he still had to do in this world. He stood up and got packed, hoping he could avoid running into other ninjas while he walked to the place he knew Ikari would have left from.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed that long awaited chapter! Now for some semi-important stuff!

Deadline for next Chap: August 21...or at least it will be in my timezone...so 14 days...If I miss that deadline: please PM me and yell at me to get working! My poor beta can only do so much! I need to have some people yell at me to get my ass in gear if I miss the deadline! Type in all caps if you feel the need! I really do need this! And, I know 14 days seems like a lot but my 1st year of High School is starting this month (do they really beat freshmen with paddles or is that a college thing?...I don't want to be beaten with a paddle! D:) and I have fuck-ton of crap to get done prior to orientation day. (like trying to review French)

DeviantArt!: No, I am not advertising! I'm gonna draw stuff! From this story at your guys's request! Why? I feel the need to make up for failing to update in forever and this is really the only way I can think to do anything. Even if my computer breaks I can jack a friend's computer to upload my pics onto DA. So, I'll try to do as many requests I can! Like if you want me to draw Hinata with Insanity! Or Jirouku or whoever/whatever! My DA account is kitsie-gem, leave a request there, or with a PM, a review...or whatever~

Multiple Stories! Yup, I'm gonna try to multi-task stories. Emphasis on "try" One you may have already saw was Trials and Errors, another is on my FictionPress account. Wish me luck. The others don't have a deadline, at least not a concrete one... This story is my top priority!

**Please Review!** You know what's awesome? Reviews, specifically reviews that help me write better. And people saying hi, I always like making new friends :3 (yes I'm a dork) Though I would really like to get some critiques, I plan to write for a living after I get out of school and according to everything I've seen/read and talked to, it's kinda really hard. Also I like knowing I've improved or gotten worse (let's hope it's not the latter) and you guys are the ones who can really tell me. I can't exactly believe my family...because they are my family...and not writers themselves...

And finally, I'm sorry for the gigantic AN and for the ridiculously long wait for this one chapter. "OTL


	6. Burning Selfish Desire

Haha! I updated on time! You know it's odd, this is the longest chapter in pages but it had actually fewer words than prior chappies..hm..perhaps too much dialog? Well, Madara and Hinata's relationship moves along and I add even more OCs and kill someone. Also, I crammed a little yaoi into here...I felt like I needed to...but it's only a little mention...

It's not the most eventful chap but I never said I was good at pacing...

**Anyway, please enjoy the chapter~!**

* * *

"Sakura-chan! My name is Hinata! Not Sasaku!"

"Oh don't be shy Sasaku! I know that's what I always called you when we were little!"

"W-what? N-n-no you didn't!"

They'd been walking for a little while and this was all Sakura and Hinata, or Sasaku as Sakura insisted could talk about. Madara all but tuned it out, he was focusing on the weird structures reaching up from behind a large hill in front of them. He couldn't sense anyone, this weird new world was entirely deserted.

Hinata suddenly stopped, a sudden shock ripped through her from Insanity. Madara and Sakura turned to her.

Sakura touched her shoulder, "Sasaku-san? What's wrong?"

Madara watched a bead of sweat roll down her forehead.

"I-I don't kn-know...I just felt..." Hinata looked down at Insanity, "My blade just..."

Madara's eyes flicked back at the odd looking structures in the distance just in time to see a figure rushing them. Sakura and Hinata only noticed when Madara turned and blocked a kick with his arm.

The attacker flipped backwards and landed some feet away. Hinata stood next to Madara with a hand on her sword while Sakura found a kunai in her leg pouch.

Their assailant's long white hair obscured her face as she spoke, "What are you doing here? This property belongs to Lady Amerante!"

"Is she a priestess?" Sakura whispered, referring to the girl's outfit, red hakama and white kimono top. She appeared to be unarmed as well.

Madara stared at her for a moment, "We're here to see Lady Amerante. Let us through."

The woman looked up, her long bangs still covering her entire face, "What business do you have with her?"

"That doesn't matter to you."

The woman seemed to shrink back under Madara's glare, "F-f-fine!" She turned and started walking through the knee high grass, "Follow me to the Shrine."

Madara went after her, Sakura followed behind and after a moment of hesitation Hinata went too. _What was that just now? Was it that woman?_

They went over the hill and finally saw what the structures were. They were giant stone monoliths. Madara stared at them in interest, noting the way they were set up in a semi-circle around a large ancient looking building reminiscent of old castles. The 12 statues didn't seem to have any real shape, they were more like misshapen pillars and almost as tall as the King of Hell statue.

The group walked between two of the great stones and headed for the building. Sakura called out to the woman after a minute, "Hey! What's your name?"

"...Umeko..."

Umeko strode through the grass quickly, putting some distance between her and the trespassers. Madara was looking at the monoliths as they walked, curious about the strange designs carved into the granite and even more curious as to how the giant rocks were transported into the vast grassy valley.

Sakura was concentrating on their unwilling guide. She was sure Umeko was some kind of priestess. She was also wondering why Umeko didn't cut her hair. It was long, silky and white. But long was an understatement; it went down past her knees and her bangs hung down over her face and down to her neck. She looked like some kind of hair demon.

Hinata wasn't thinking about the rocks or Umeko or even Insanity. She was just following the sound of people ahead of her, her mind completely blank. She felt odd, something was pulsing in her core, something that seemed to be clawing to get out. And Insanity no longer had the same presence as before, it no longer drew her in, now it only seemed like a tool to be used and thrown away. But Hinata was only aware of this on a subconscious level.

They finally stood at the doors to the building. It was not a large place but it wasn't a hut either. Umeko opened the doors and waved them in. Madara went first, irked that there had been people here he couldn't sense and still couldn't sense them. Sakura and Hinata went in after him followed by Umeko who shut the door. Sakura saw two boys leaning against a far wall and a screen set up to the side of him. There was a silhouette of someone behind the screen.

Madara stared at the two men. They had no chakra signature of any kind, neither did the one behind the screen, or Umeko. The men were ignoring them, talking to each other.

One was taller, dressed in gold silk with short messy black hair. He was speaking as they had come into the room, "Furthermore, I'm _still _your Prince and you'll treat me as such. The fall of the castle is only a momentary inconvenience for me."

The other one, a tired looking brunette who's longer hair was brushed into a neater style and was dressed in significantly less elegant torn blue robes rolled his eyes, "A momentary inconvenience? Really? She's taken control of the castle, town and people and you call it an inconvenience?"

"She won't be in control for long, Lady Amerante said so."

"Kami, you're stupid. Is it a trait of royalty to be so thickheaded?"

"_Asa,_" the supposed prince growled, "I give you an enormous amount of slack already but watch your tongue."

"Or what? I'll treat you like a prince when you act like a prince. Lusting after a human farmer sure as hell isn't prince-like."

The prince's shoulders slumped, "It's not lust. Is it so hard to believe that I actually care for you?"

Asa shrugged, "Well, Ai-_sama, _it is when you can have anyone at the snap of your fingers and yet you seemed to settle for me. Or are you just doing this out of spite of your parents?"

Prince Ai bristled at this, "Asa, do I have to beat it into you that your mine? That I actually love you? Because I will. I'll break every single bone in your body until you tell me you love me!"

Sakura was horrified.

Asa looked pissed off.

Madara wasn't listening.

Hinata was slowly becoming aware that something was wrong with Insanity and wasn't listening either.

And Umeko sighed and shook her head, "Ai-sama, did you ever think that maybe Asa doesn't love you because you're a violent psychopath? Because, you _are_ a violent psychopath."

Ai just huffed and folded his arms.

Umeko turned to the others, "Erm...this is kind of awkward. Anyway, Lady Amerante will be finished meditating shortly...if you would please wait a bit."

Ai got off the wall and headed to a door in the back of the room, "Asa-kun, come with me."

"Why?"

"I'll break your arm if I have to drag you. Get over here."

Umeko groaned, "Ai-sama, you aren't helping yourself."

"Shut up human."

"Ai-sama, Asa-kun is human."

The prince grumbled something under his breath and stalked off, apparently giving up. After a minute Asa followed him.

Sakura stood next to Umeko, "He's kind of clueless about love isn't he? Despite being named Ai.."

Umeko nodded, "Honestly they're both idiots. I don't know how I deal with them sometimes."

Sakura nodded, "I know what that's like..." she wasn't entirely sure why but she had a faint memory of two boys who constantly fought. Their faces remained dark however.

Sakura turned to Madara, "Madara-sama? What do you think?"

Madara was jolted out of his thoughts, "Hm? About what?"

"Weren't you listening?" Sakura frowned.

"No."

She turned to Hinata who was examining her sword, "Sasaku-san? Were you listening?

"Huh?" Hinata looked up, flustered, "I-I'm s-sorry, w-what?"

Sakura turned back to Umeko, "Sometimes I wonder about them..." even though she'd only been with "them" for a very short period of time.

Umeko nodded, "Ugh, know that feeling..."

They could all hear Ai and Asa arguing about something. Madara walked to other end of the room to wait, still eying the shadow behind the screen. Hinata stood off to the side, thinking that Insanity felt "empty". Sakura and Umeko were talking, mostly about how to get Ai to stop bothering Asa.

-Back in the Hyuuga compound-

Hanabi was resting, or trying to. She was feeling increasingly paranoid. Unable to sleep, she sat up, wincing at the slight pain. Then someone spoke up behind her, "Sorry to wake you, but I need your help."

She jumped and turned, a girl about her age stood near the bed. Long black hair, yellow eyes with flecks of red.

"Where is your sister? I need to talk to your sister."

Her heart started pounding, she didn't sense this girl's chakra but she was standing right there.

"Please little one, you must tell me where your sister is."

Hanabi shook her head, scooting back to the other end of the bed.

The girl sighed, "Little one, please. I won't hurt her. She's in danger. I want to help her."

Hanabi narrowed her eyes, "I don't believe you!"

The girl held out her hand, "Please little one, this is important."

"Get away!" Hanabi thought about screaming, but everyone was already away, searching for the Hokage.

The girl hung her head, "Fine. We'll do this the hard way, I'll take you with me."

Hanabi felt tears spring up in her eyes, "W-what?"

The girl's eyes flashed red, "You are my servant. You will guide me to your sister."

Hanabi's eyes flashed yellow, "...yes..." her voice lost it's fear, now taking on a mellow tone.

"You'll call me Tsuki-sama."

"...yes, Tsuki-sama..."

"Get up then Little One," Tsuki held out her hand again, "We have to go find your sister."

-The Streets of Konoha-

The Leaf Ninja would've gotten out of the city without anyone knowing if it weren't for a certain blonde...

"HEY!"

The Nin stopped, cursing his luck.

From behind he could hear Naruto running up to him.

"Hey! Where ya goin'?"

He put on his best smile as he turned to greet the blonde idiot, "Heh, I have a mission."

"Eh?" Naruto stopped beside him, "A mission? Now? With the Hokage gone?"

"It's important, now, if you'll excuse me Naruto..."

"But I wanna help!"

"I'm sorry Naruto, you have to stay here!"

"But Iruka-sensei! I want to help! There's nothing to do here, and Sakura-chan is gone!"

"Then go look for her, look Naruto, this is very important. I have to do it by myself."

"And why is that Iruka? We were all ordered to help search for the Hokage."

_Shit.._

"Kakashi-sensei!"

With a poof a smoke Kakashi appeared in front of them. He stared at Iruka for a long moment before saying, "You know Iruka, it's very odd you'd suddenly get a mission like this," he stated plainly.

Iruka shrugged, "But I did. Gotta get going!" He turned to leave.

Kakashi watched him walk him away, "Bye then...Iruka.."

"Ugh, seeya Iruka-sensei!" Naruto waved.

Iruka looked back and waved too.

Kakashi waited until Iruka was out of sight, "Naruto..."

"Yeah Sensei?"

"Do me a favor...follow Iruka...don't let him know too early, alright?"

Naruto's eyes lit up, "Alright!"

-The other world-

Ikari was pissed. Jirouku brought a human with him.

Jirouku was helping the woman sit up, "There there Lovely, you'll be alright..."

"Ugh...wha-? What? Wh-who are you?" Shizune looked over at Ikari and then back to Jirouku, "I- I can't remember who I am either!"

Jirouku kissed the confused medic-nin's forehead, "Shush now Lovely. You're my beautiful wife. We're going home."

Shizune stared at the blunette in slight horror, "B-but I don't remember anything!"

"It's all right, Lovely. It'll come back to you soon. I'm Jirouku," he chuckled.

Jirouku helped "Lovely" up.

Ikari snorted, "Really? You just _had _to bring her?"

Jirouku shrugged, "Sorry Ikari-hime, but she's safer here. It will be safer for our little ones."

Shizune put a hand on her stomach, _I-I'm pregnant? _

Ikari turned, "I'm already irked those idiots went through the Gate first. Do whatever to the woman...I don't care anymore...I'm heading to the castle."

-Somewhere in Konoha-

"Tsunade. Get up."

_Huh?_

"Get up old woman."

The Sannin eye's slowly pried themselves open. She was staring at the face of a little girl. After her mind pieced itself back together it hit her.

"Hitomi!"

Tsunade sat up quickly, ignoring the dizzying head rush it gave her. Her heart fell when she recognized the curled up figure in the corner as Sayuri. The blood on the little girl's face had dried now, her body had stiffened, eyes frozen open.

Hitomi glanced at the body as well, "Don't be so surprised. She couldn't handle the tampering you bastards were doing. But Yodo could. And so did I."

"W-where's...Tsukiko?" The Hokage's voice cracked.

"No idea."

Tsunade watched Hitomi trudge off. She got up. It was dark, the one little light on the ceiling gave off a pathetic glow that did little for the gloom of the room Tsunade was in. She was on the verge of tears, the echo's of Sayuri's past pleas replaying in her head.

Tsunade tried to shut them out. A low screeching started to become louder from somewhere in the dark. It sounded like wheels. Tsunade's stomach twisted and the anxiety built up in her chest.

Hitomi came in with a wheelchair. In the wheelchair was a woman. She was wrapped from head to toe in dirty bandages, tufts and strands of her black hair stuck out through the wrappings. She had one eye visible..but there was no eye there...not anymore. Now it was just a sunken pit.

Tsunade took a step back but the thoughts were already in her head.

_It's my fault this happened. _

_ This was my idea..._

_ I should've given up after Project Four ended..._

_ It's all my fault!_

Tears were now streaming down Tsunade's face.

_All my fault.._

She was shaking...

_I deserve to just..._

A quivering hand went up to her neck as sobbed openly, eyes and face quickly becoming red.

_Die!_

It only took a little bit of chakra to make her chakra scalpel.

Hitomi watched the once powerful Sannin fall, eyes clouding over and blood spurting out of the gash across her neck.

Tsunade's thoughts cleared of Yodo's control as the world went black, _I'm so sorry everyone..._

_ I'm sorry..._

_-_At Lady Amerante's-

The silhouette finally moved. A woman just a little older than Hinata and Sakura emerged from behind the screen. Long black hair and green eyes, dressed in fine silks and her hair ornamented with jewels. She looked like a goddess.

The woman went to Madara, "Well aren't you handsome~" she whispered, eyes narrowing as a playful smirk drew across her face.

Hinata's eye twitched as she felt sudden uncontrollably violent rage erupt from her core.

Umeko bowed, "Lady Amerante, they came to see you."

Amerante practically twirled away, swirling her robes and jingling her hair ornaments, "Well obviously~ It's not like they came to see that ass Ai!" She giggled and twirled into the middle of the room.

Sakura had noticed Hinata's sudden fit of rage as her grip on Insanity's sheath threatened to break it.

Madara didn't notice. He was staring at Amerante.

Amerante giggled again, her painted lips curving into a smile, "Please tell me, my handsome man, that you're suitor come to ask for my hand in marriage?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

There was a silence, then, "You aren't my type."

Amerante sighed dramatically, "Oh, am I forever to be alone?" Then she twirled again, this time humming to herself.

Hinata had been one eyelash bat away from viscously stabbing Amerante in the face repeatedly but then Madara had unknowingly saved Amerante from death with his words.

The woman suddenly twirled over and stopped in front of Hinata, "Oh! White eyes!"

"H-Huh?" Hinata stepped back.

"I've been seeing white eyes in my meditation~ And blood," She tilted her head, "Lots of blood and a feeling of impending death~! That means a Shinigami is about to be born! Are you the Shinigami?"

Hinata's mind went on panic mode. _She called me a Shinigami like Nobuyuki did! She knows I'm a killer! _Panic panic panic panic panic-

"Hey! Leave her alone, Sasaku isn't a Shinigami!" Sakura pushed her way between them.

Madara held back a laugh, he could easily picture Hinata as a Shinigami after seeing her drenched in blood.

Amerante shoved Sakura none-to-nicely to the side, "Shoo~!"

Hinata swallowed, "I-I'm not-"

"Yes you are~! Oh and you're an adorable one! Most Shinigami look soooo hideous!"

"N-no!"

"Don't be shy~!"

Amerante suddenly violated Hinata's personal space bubble with an uncalled for hug.

"S-s-s-st-stop i-it!"

"And I saw a city burning and bodies everywhere~," Amerante went on like she was talking about the weather, "Are you going to destroy a city?" She asked with a smile, finally releasing Hinata.

"N-no!"

"Aww..why not?"

"W-what is wrong with you!"

"What do you mean~?"

Madara stepped in and pulled Hinata aside, "You're going to give her a heart attack carrying on like that."

"Ah? Really? Perhaps she needs fresh air then~! Becoming a Shinigami can be very stressful sometimes~!" Amerante ushered Madara and Hinata back outside, "I'm going to go meditate some more and see if you really are the shinigami~! I hope so, I've always wanted to see the birth of one!"

Madara was holding Hinata up as she stumbled her way out. He led her out aways from Amerante's home and helped her sit in the grass. He knelt down next to her, a knowing smile creeping across his face, "So, Hyuuga-san. Are you the 'shinigami'?"

Hinata swallowed and looked down at Insanity, "I...don't know.."

A sudden powerful gust of wind blew threw the valley, blowing the grass and their hair back. The statues' runes lit up in a faint blue that nearly disappeared in the sky's own brilliant color. The sharingan in Madara's eyes swirled slowly. Hinata was staring at him, a hollow ache welling up in her chest. His face was framed with his gorgeous ink black hair, crimson red eyes alight with interest as he watched, his soft lips a pale pink, pursed into an amused smirk. Hinata whimpered.

_He's so perfect it hurts..._

Madara looked back, "What is it?"

Hinata didn't even realize what she was saying until she heard them, "What do you think of Konoha?"

_I just want to hear his voice..._

"Konoha?"

"Y-yes..."

Madara grunted and grabbed Hinata's chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes, he leaned in close, "I want it burned to the ground, I want to see flames licking at the blackened embers of ruined homes. I want each proud shinobi and kunoichi consumed by the fire and their bodies charred and their ashes ground into the dust and dirt. I want to see the remnants of the great walls blown away with the leaves on the same wind that would carry the agonized screams of those who could not escape as they reached toward the sky praying for the salvation they will not be granted to them. I want the fires doused by the blood of the citizens and the ninja who dare stand in my way. I want the ground to be so soaked in blood and death that it turns black with rivers of red, fed by the bodies of those foolish enough to fight me. I want the sight of a destroyed Konoha to be so horrific it makes even the God of Death turn away in disgust," he took a slow even breath, "That...is what I think of Konoha..."

He pulled away to observe the horrified look on the young girl's face and was shocked. She was blushing madly, her eyes having taken on a dreamy look, "M-Madara-s-sama..." She put a hand to her cheek and looked down and _giggled_, "Oh, M-M-Madara-sama..."

Madara felt that smirk tug his lips again and he let it pull them into a twisted smile. She acted as if he was school crush who'd just professed his undying love for her. He stood up, "Well then little Hinata-kun, if you do become the shinigami then burn Konoha down for me. Kami only knows how hard I've tried before with that damned fox..." and he left.

Hinata took a deep breath and then laughed. There was one thought that made sense in her chaotic mind. She now had something to do with that information on Project Nine. She'd make Madara's wishes come true.

_I'll become your own personal shinigami, Madara. You deserve it. You're so perfect...I'll bring Konoha to it's knees...and then I'll let you light the fire! _

Hinata felt something unwind in her chest. She felt oddly free. Grabbing for Insanity she unsheathed it and touched the blade gingerly. The shining silver edge was mesmerizing alright, but it had nothing compared to Madara's eyes.

There was a small part of Hinata that screamed at her

_How can you be so selfish! Don't the lives of your friends and family mean anything to you! _

Hinata shook her head, thinking that little voice of reason sounded so impossibly stupid.

_Madara...he wants it...if I help him perhaps he'll..._

_Selfish bitch. _

_But he's man of my dreams! He's kind and beautiful and-_

_Naruto...I were supposed to love Naruto..._

The conflicted singular voice in Hinata's head fell silent. After a minute of dazed silence a pulse from her heart sent shivers down her spine.

She started to speak to herself, as if her voice overpowered the one in her mind, "I did love Naruto..." it was a whisper, "But he'd never love me...I could make Madara love me...if I burn Konoha to ashes...he'll love me..." her own voice sounded so faraway in her own ears. And that's when the little voice of reason in Hinata's head went quiet and dared not speak again.

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Hey~ Hope you liked that chap, I know it's not the best. But hey, on time chapter is on time! Raise your hand if you saw knew the Leaf Nin was Iruka! And Hinata's finally lost it...

Okays, few things: **Next Chapter: August 27!** Shortened the chappie wait~ Wanted to squeezed another chap out before big scary high school starts.

Also: I'm still accepting art requests, my DA account is on my profile. It can be anything~ an OC, a scene, just let me know what you want.

Also also: **Five reviews or no update:** I know you guys were a bit irked by my uber late update and disappointingish chappie, but only 2 reviews? Reviews let me know people read this damn thing, so if you all lost interest, then why bother writing? I could just send it to the two people who still read the story via docX. I don't mean to be mean and demanding...but I was rather disheartened by the lack of interest.

And, if you do review, and have bothered reading the rest of this AN, then please tell me how to do better. I'll love you for it~!

Um..yeah...long AN is long...**_I_ hope you enjoyed that chappie! **sorry I'm demanding 5 reviews Orz I know I suck...


	7. How to Birth A Demon

Geez...can you imagine what's gonna happen when I have to meet deadline for like, a job? I'm gonna be screwed! Though with the new year comes new chances, and in my case, I made a pact with my dear XxDarkSarcasm1010xX to update every Sunday even if it kills us!

I'll do my best! So here's the second half the last chapter! And I still have no idea how many chappies there are gonna be...oh man...

* * *

There was something in the air besides the earthy smell of loam and dirt. It seemed sweet at first yet the taste on the breeze was more of an unpleasant bitterness. Iruka took this as a sign he was close. In his mind he vaguely remembered the same things on his first trip through a Shinigami Gate. As old thoughts began to swirl in his head he started to consider them once more.

He had always wondered what the realm beyond the Gates was; unsure if it was heaven or hell or something entirely different. And besides that, his superiors, what were they if they were neither gods nor humans? Iruka might have gone on to answer these questions with his new found knowledge gleaned from years in their service but an out of place a rustle switched his mindset entirely.

He stopped, feeling a migraine bubble up from the back of his head. He was so close and that idiot had to follow him?

He stayed still for a moment, not allowing his immense irritation overwhelm him.

"Naruto," the Jounin sighed.

Nothing obvious, just another quieter rustle.

"Naruto," he growled this time, not wanting to play this game today.

Silence.

Iruka jerked his head over to the side he knew Naruto was hiding, "Uzumaki Naruto."

He heard a grumble in a familiar voice and seconds later an orange blur darted from the trees. Naruto stood in front his former sensei rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish look.

"Do you understand how serious this is?" Iruka wasn't going to play nice guy, not today.

"Erm..uh...w-well, now that you mention it..."

Iruka ground his teeth, "Who sent you?"

"B-but I was just trying to hel-"

"Who!"

"...Kakashi-sensei..."

Iruka grabbed the front of Naruto's shirt, "Tell Kakashi I was given a lead to follow to find the Hokage...he'll understand." A lie, but how would the knucklehead ninja be able to tell? And by the time Kakashi gets over here he'll be long gone.

"B-but Iruka-sens-"

"Go damn it. Don't you care about the Hokage?"

"Grandma Tsunade..." The blonde looked down at his feet.

"Go."

"Okay okay!" the young ninja gave him one last confused look, "Please find her..."

Iruka allowed his expression to soften, "Of course I will Naruto.."

The jounin watched the younger man head back to Kakashi. He wondered if he could afford delaying his arrival to the other world to throw Kakashi off. It sounded good, what could Ikari possible do in few hours anyway?

-The Hyuuga compound-

Tsuki was surprised at how difficult it was to summon a Gate inside the the mansion. It seemed as if there was seal on the entire place that drained her energy. But it didn't matter, the Gate was summoned and opened. As she helped her newest servant up she began to think of her sister's own servant.

His name had been Nobu-something. She remembered he had such difficulty in opening Gates since he was half-human. She wondered if he still couldn't summon a Gate and open it within the same minute.

Hanabi stumbled into her master. Her head was spinning, she could've sworn she was just in someone's bedroom. Her master didn't seem upset by their sudden appearance in the forest so Hanabi kept quiet.

Tsuki sighed as her eyes looked over the familiar landscape. Her sister was such a trouble maker, doing so much for such trivial reasons. Tsuki snapped her fingers and started to walk off, wanting to get back to the castle as fast as she could. Hanabi blinked and followed after quickly, wondering where they were going to next.

-Amerante's-

Hinata had been sitting in the field by herself just laughing at nothing. She was just so happy that it was overflowing from her body in the form of giggles. Sakura had been watching for the better part of ten minutes. At first she thought Madara had said something to her, half way through she though Sasaku had lost it, now her thoughts were assuming both had happened...

Sakura cleared her throat impatiently, this was just getting creepy now. Hinata jumped up with a squeak, spinning around to face the pink haired kunoichi while blushing like mad. There was a minute of intensely awkward silence between the two.

Finally Sakura smiled, "Feeling...better Sasaku?"

Hinata blinked, "Y-y-y-yes..."

Sakura sighed, "Good...so...let's go back in now...I think that crazy woman is going to rape Madara-sama or something..."

Hinata's eye twitched. There was an idea forming in her head that killing Amerante would make Madara happy...and what makes Madara happy...

Sakura struck up a conversation about something trivial and Hinata played along but was focusing on a plan to kill Amerante and impress Madara at the same time. Hinata's thought process kept going back to Madara, every action she considered taking she thought back to how it might effect him. Though buried far within herself there was still the lingering doubt, the one small thought that recognized the obsession for what it was. Hinata was not even vaguely aware of it anymore, she had no time for doubt. There was only Madara.

The two walked along at their leisure, Sakura was a continuous stream of unimportant babble and Hinata quietly feigned listening.

Inside Amerante's home there was a comfortable silence. Amerante had disappeared behind the screen again, her servants having run off to where ever, leaving Madara to himself. He leaned against a wall with his arms crossed

He inhaled deeply, enjoying the strong incense Amerante had started burning for her meditation. Since Sakura left he'd been thinking about Hinata. The White Eyed Shinigami. He chuckled to himself, picturing it. She'd be adorable. From looking at her you wouldn't believe she'd hurt a fly.

It didn't take long for his thoughts to take on a more twisted light. He started seeing a ruined Konoha and a pretty little angel bringing him his enemies heads on pikes. Had he been left to alone any longer he might have gone on to dream of what he'd rebuild Konoha as but Sakura opened the door.

"So I guess he likes them or something...I can't really remember but some some blonde dumbass really liked noodles or whatever. I think it was like a fetish and that one old guy had noodle porn something...I don't really remember much else..." Sakura went on as she held the door open.

"Uh huh..." Hinata mumbled for about the 20th time in the past fifteen minutes.

Madara thought back to the giggling, blood covered angel in his fantasy as he regarded the real one with a smirk. Hinata noticed and felt her knees cave in slightly as her heart jumped to her throat. She felt her heart shiver, momentarily frozen in place by laughing blood red orbs. Sakura's voice broke the trance again as she went to greet Madara and inquire the whereabouts of the others.

Madara answered, but he kept on smiling. Hinata, his little shinigami, just looked too adorable standing aside so innocent like yet had a firm grip on her sword which he knew she used for significantly less innocent purposes.

Amerante didn't reappear until the early hours of the next morning. Umeko had given them rooms to stay the night in. Whilst the others slept Madara stayed up.

It just didn't make any sense.

His armor lay beside him, shining in the flickering lantern light. He was looking at his hands. They were calloused from years of physical labor and wielding weapons. But it wasn't right- these were his hands years ago. Not now. He was far older now. Those years were all but lost now- just pitiful memories that drudged up wretched feelings and old faces. He made his hands into fists.

It didn't make sense.

In the next room Hinata was trying to sleep. She shivered every so often. It was so cold...

She was sitting in front of three mirrors, her reflections staring back at her. She let out a breath the puffed into a cloud. She folded her arms about herself, damning the stolen kimono to hell for being so thin. She looked back at the mirrors and with a jolt she found that the reflections hadn't moved.

The middle one tilted it's head, a serene smile on it's face. _Hinata._

Hinata froze. It sounded so familiar...a voice speaking within her mind...but it was different...it wasn't like before...

The middle one closed it's eyes and opened them again, seeming to have activated the Byakugan.

The reflection on the left closed it's eyes and opened it's mouth. Hinata was horrified to watch a pure white egg work it's way up from the back of the reflection's throat. It spat out the egg into it's hands. It held it out in both hands, with an innocent smile.

The third reflection had started humming. A simple tune that seemed so familiar.

The middle smiled again. _Hinata. _

She felt something heavy and foreign in her stomach.

_Do you believe life can be created from nothing? _

"Wha-wha..." she put a hand on the thing in her stomach.

_So affected by others...you should not be surprised by being chosen..._

"N-no.." her voice was weak.

_Others are just __**dying **__to be in your position. _

"No..no..no.." her weakness...

_Really...what did you think it was? _ That's when the voice changed. She couldn't place it... Heavy...darker...not her anymore..

_A shiny trinket? _

The mirrors cracked. Hinata's eyes went wide as she was suddenly staring at a wall. She sat up, feeling sick. She put her hands over her stomach.

And that's when she quietly began to sob. The little remnant of sanity in her was coming back. It told her to stop. Just stop everything and think. _"So affected by others," _it parroted, "_Is it making sense to you yet?"_

"No...no...no..." her throat had that familiar feeling of closing up and her eyes stinging with tears.

"_Naruto...then Yodo...now Madara..." _

"I- n- no...no..no no no..." the sobs were getting stronger.

_"Do you understand? Do you understand yet? This isn't-"_

"I- g-ge-et it!" she choked out between breaths, "I- w-w-want th-ing-s I- c-c-can-t h-ave. Pow-er or l-l-l-ove..."

And in that moment everything that had happened was lost on Hinata as she remembered just how weak she was.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed that chappie!

Ungh...I feel as if I making Hinata change back a little too quickly...but she won't stay weak for long! I have an idea! Also, if you're curious about the egg, the hint is the name of one the chapters! Nya~

Next Sunday! I'll update for sure! Believe it! *Nice Guy pose*

Naruto: ...wait...I don't do that!


	8. Pretty Spirits

Ha~ see? I did it! Now just to do it again... Huh, I've been doing a lot looking back on previous chapters and cringing. I hope that means I'm getting better- I think I've eliminated a lot of the useless and kinda bulky/distracting description. I'm working really hard to blend the description and action together so it doesn't break the flow (too much)

This chapter's pretty short, nya, I've been doing finals all week and they're STILL not over. Geez, no one told me they'd suck so much. But at least a major plot point happens...I think it's major...It's pretty important for the next chappies anyway~

But enough of that crap, **please enjoy the chappie! **

* * *

As she stepped out into the hallway, she noticed Madara heading back into his room. He stopped and gave her a feral smile, "Good morning, _hime." _

She glanced at him, and for a second she felt she should melt under his gaze. But she didn't. She didn't even speak. She turned and headed down the hall.

Madara's smile slipped off his face. That was...different... He watched Hinata disappear behind a corner. That was incredibly different. Madara wondered if perhaps his charm had worn off, though he doubted it. Not that it mattered, he didn't intend to stay long. And he certainly didn't want to drag around two useless leaf shinobi.

Hinata found herself standing in front of the door they had first come in. She reached her hand out-

"Is this her?"

She turned, Amerante and some other woman were watching her.

"Yes, this is her."

Hinata blinked, the woman looked so familiar.

Amerante tilted her head to the side, causing her many ornaments to tingle and shimmer, "You're sister beat you here."

A sick feeling was welling up in Hinata's chest.

"Of course she would- she always does. But then again she's very impartial to the worlds."

"But aren't you both that way?"

"True- but I at least tether myself for a little while."

Tsukiko...she looked like an older version of Tsukiko.

"Tsuki-sama, was it necessary before then?"

Tsuki had the same yellow eyes as her sister, "Mm...Well...I didn't think I would find her here though... I thought I needed her."

Amerante shrugged, "Shimigami, give this woman your sword. It's hers." No sing-song voice, no overly dramatic gestures.

Hinata held onto Insanity, "What?"

Tsuki smiled, "Please? My father left that to me."

It seemed so long ago that she'd read that receipt...so long ago she'd found the basement in her home.

Tsuki's smile tightened, "Please give that to me. You don't know what to do with it."

It was almost laughable in Hinata's mind, after all that and here she was again with the threat of losing the Dance of Insanity, and again the thought terrified her. She really did obsess over things.

"I found it." Finders keepers, right? She wasn't holding onto because she was obsessed, no this time it was choice. It was her choice. She kept telling herself that. Her choice entirely.

Tsuki's smile broke, "Give. It. To. Me."

"No."

Amerante giggled, "There shall be consequences~!"

Hinata looked at her. What were they going to do? Kill Sakura? As if she'd care.

Tsuki turned, "Maybe it was necessary after all. Servant. Come here."

There was a rush of footsteps from down the hall. Hinata thought it would be Sakura. It wasn't.

Hinata's mouth opened and for a few breathless seconds she didn't believe it, "H-Hanabi?"

Hanabi didn't understand. First her Master had to come all the way over to this strange woman's house and then she was being told she had to convince her sister to part with a special katana or something. Hanabi didn't remember having a sister, so she wasn't sure what to say when her supposed sister was calling her name.

"Hanabi! Wha- how the hell did you find her! She's injured! She needs to be resting!"

Hanabi watched her Master tilt her head, "Oh? So this gets your attention? I'll return her to you if you just give me that sword."

Hinata's heart was beating it's way out of her chest. She held Insanity out for a minute then stopped and pulled it back. She felt...odd. And it was more than the dull pain in her stomach. She felt angry.

Always such a pushover.

Always intimidated.

What if this woman, this Tsuki, didn't give her sister back?

Hinata looked at her sister, thought for a second, then unsheathed Insanity.

"Hanabi. I'm sorry you have to see this."

Hanabi looked from the woman to her Master, "See what?"

There was a tense pause, the air in the room grew still and thick. Then Hinata moved forward, Tsuki only had time to step back and blink before she felt herself being cleaved in two. Amerante sighed as Hinata's blade turned to her. Just as the she was about to feel Insanity slice through her neck she dissolved into dust.

Hinata stopped and watched as the dust floated slowly to the floor. She heard Hanabi cry out and turned.

Tsuki's body was stitching itself back together as she struggled to stand up. Once enough of her was bound back together she stood staring at Hinata.

"That was uncalled for," she said as strips of flesh molded and threaded her face back to one piece.

Hinata wasn't as scared as she would've been before having found Insanity. Now she was just irritated. Dead things should stay dead. She didn't notice Hanabi backing up into the wall in tears.

Hinata was about to try again when that ache in her stomach gave a painful pulse. Her knees crumpled in the midst of stepping forward and she knelt on the ground holding her stomach.

Tsuki watched her for a minute, listening to her pained whimpers. After a while she sat on the ground, "So Amerante was right. You...you really are... Well then...I'd feel bad about stripping you of your only means of protection."

Hinata shivered, it felt like cramps but somehow worse, each pulse hurt all the way up to her head. She tried to look up at Tsuki, but the pain was forcing her into a ball.

Tsuki looked over at the cowering Hanabi, "You, come here."

Hanabi obeyed with slow, forced steps.

Tsuki gave her smile, "You are released little one."

Hanabi felt something leave her, and then felt a sharp pain behind her eyes. She dropped.

Hinata screamed and tried to get up- sending another painful shock through her body.

Tsuki slowly became a thin mist before disappearing altogether.

Hanabi found herself on the floor, watching confused as her sister dragged herself over to her.

"H-H-Hanabi it-it's go-going t-t-to be o-oka-ay!" She lifted her up into her lap, eyes burning as tears spilled down her cheeks.

_How is this happening again! _

Hanabi felt tired. She didn't hurt like before, nor did she remember meeting Tsuki. She just wanted to sleep. She didn't understand why Hinata was so upset. She was fine.

"Hanabi!"

She noticed that the man that had helped her before was standing over them. He had an odd look on his face. Then there was pink haired girl beside him- Sakura maybe? She wasn't sure. No one seemed to have faces anymore except Hinata.

"Hanabi! Don't close your eyes!"

Her sister was just being silly. She was tired. Thus it made sense to sleep. She could hear the man saying something-

"I can't—-something is-not sure-" he sounded like he was under water, his voice becoming indecipherable noise at times.

She noticed that at some point the man had bent over her, trying to do something with his hands. The girl was sounded like she was trying to say something.

"Hanabi!"

Another man appeared behind Hinata. He had a sweet smile. He walked over to the other side of her.

"Hanabi wake up!" _This isn't happening again!_

The man held a hand out to her.

Hanabi wanted to close her eyes but Hinata was just being so noisy! She looked at her and smiled. It's not like she'd never wake up.

Hinata shuddered. This was different than before.

Madara was trying to heal her like before but, "I don't what it is! Her body isn't even-" He stopped. He couldn't feel the girl's chakra anymore.

Hinata's eyes were locked with her sister's, and she watched as those eyes stopped seeing her.

Hanabi had taken that man's hand. He introduced himself as Izuna.

"I'm Hanabi!" he seemed so nice.

She looked around, her sister had finally gone quiet. The man had his hands in his lap. The girl was just standing there. Hanabi looked down at the odd- thing lying in her sister's lap. It was strange. She looked up at Izuna, "I don't feel tired anymore."

The man smiled, "You don't have to worry about being tired anymore."

* * *

I hope you liked the chapter!

Nya, Hanabi was supposed to die that first time actually, and then in the middle of writing I had an idea and changed it.

By the way~ Have you guys figured out the egg reference yet? *hinty hint* Do you remember what Amerante was saying the first time she met Hinata?


	9. Ache

Pathetic update is pathetic. But on the other hand this is the last short ass chappie and the next ones are going back to that 5-7 page length.

Guh, no one told me how much finals sucked. I've been up for the past week every night working on this giant art project, freaking papers, studying...bleh. Next time I have finals and have an update I'm going to write those chappies as much in advance as possible.

This should explain the egg thing. Geez...this story was supposed to be so simple, Hinata was just supposed to lose it and take over Konoha, and now here we are in this other world with shinigamis and a thousand OCs...*sigh*

**Please enjoy this tiny chappie!**

* * *

Silence. Painful, painful silence.

Madara felt...odd. He was thinking back to when this same girl had been injured. He was thinking of Izuna. He looked at Hinata. She was quiet.

He heard Sakura take a step forward, "...Sasaku?"

Hinata did not look up.

The air had gone very cold and still. It sickened him with it's familiarity. But the difference was that Hinata had not been the cause of her sibling's death. Madara on the other hand... He averted his eyes when Hinata's form crumpled over her sister, visibly shaking with silent tears.

Sakura felt useless. She didn't know what she could do... She tried her voice again, "Sasaku?"

Hinata did not look up.

Sakura swallowed. The lack of noise was making her head hurt. She turned to Madara, "Madara-sama?"

He was looking at his lap.

...

They had no other choice but to bury Hanabi out in the field lest she rot.

…

Hinata had retreated to the room she shared with Sakura. She wondered if she had simply given up Insanity would Hanabi still be alive? She curled into a tight ball, the katana laying at her side. Sakura was outside...picking flowers for Hanabi's grave.

Hinata couldn't bear to look at it...the grave...or Hanabi's body... It made her sick. Hinata closed her eyes. Everything hurt at the moment...her stomach...her head...her heart... She was just going to close her eyes for a minute.

When she opened them again she was sitting in the dark. She felt someone resting their chin on her shoulder, their arms wrapped around her. She leaned back and tried to look at them.

_White eyes._

She wasn't sure who she was staring at. They had very pale skin, almost sickly, and thick, black hair down to their thin shoulders.

Hinata blinked. They- him, he...made her stomach hurt looking at him...

His nearly colorless lips pursed for a minute before stretching into a smile, "It's going to be alright."

Hinata didn't say anything. She suddenly became aware of how soft her kimono was. She started fidgeting with the hem on the sleeve. She didn't like looking at the man. He made the pain in her stomach pulse in an unbearable rhythm that seemed to be trying to match her heart beat.

His hand touched her cheek and she looked up. She took his hand and examined the thin, frail looking fingers.

"Listen to me."

She looked up. Another sick pulse in her stomach.

"You need to take care of me, okay?"

She couldn't keep looking at him. She turned away. She was feeling tired again.

"Will you?"

Another pulse. He needed to stop talking, Hinata felt it was making her sicker.

"Will you?"

Hinata shivered.

"Well?"

She nodded. But she just wanted to sleep some more.

"Please answer me."

"...yes..." _Stop talking..._

"Yes what?"

"...I'll take care of you..." _Let me sleep._

She felt him rest his chin on her shoulder again. Her eyes felt heavy...

"I have another favor to ask of you."

_No...I'm tired..._

"Show me how beautiful you are."

Hinata's mind was hazy, she didn't understand, "...Huh?"

"Show me."

She felt Insanity in her hands. She didn't remember having had it before...

"Show all of them. Show all of them how beautiful you are."

Hinata woke with a start. She noticed Sakura had curled up on her mat on the other end of the room. Her back was to her and she was very still.

Hinata put a hand on her stomach. She could feel something heavy and foreign. It pulsed and it hurt.

_White eyes._

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed!**

For some reason I feel like I made this all too obvious in this chapter... subtlety is not my forte. Also, I intend to kill off some more main characters so be prepared for more crappily written death scenes.


	10. Love Me

Hey peeps. So 5 page chappie this is not. Actually it's about 4 pages. But in my mind it made sense to stop where I did, and really, it's about as long as the first chapter. Man...I need to go back and read this entire thing over again. It's been so long...

For some reason in this chap I had a lot of trouble with tenses. I don't even know why, I never write in anything but past tense yet I found myself slipping randomly. It was odd... Anyways, please excuse the changed "format", I didn't like the way I made it known when we switched to another perspective or world and FF doesn't let me just "enter" the problem away. So it may change some more...

**Please enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Hanabi was fascinated by her sister now. She couldn't put words to it but it just felt like...like Hinata was some intangible thing...something so close but she couldn't touch... It was giving her a headache trying to figure it out.

She was watching her sister and the man talk. Well...the man was talking... Her sister was so quiet. She noticed Izuna was behind the man, watching him silently. Izuna always seemed to be near the man. Hanabi wondered if they were related, they did look a lot alike. It was so strange.

Though there were some things that bothered her. For one thing, she couldn't really understand any of what the man was saying... She couldn't understand anything she'd heard the man, that pink haired girl, or even her sister say. They didn't sound like they were underwater like before...now it was just mumbling.

She'd asked Izuna but he only frowned and shook his head. She wondered if he could hear them clearly.

The other thing that had been bothering her was the chakra inside of Hinata. She didn't need to activate her Byakugan to see it and it would pulse every now and then. It was in her stomach and it blocked out some of Hinata's chakra.

Hanabi didn't like it. It shouldn't be in there.

* * *

She watched Hinata leave and go back to the room she'd been staying in, her hand on her stomach. _She can feel it, _Hanabi thought, _then why doesn't she get it out? _She wanted to rid her sister of that thing...but she couldn't touch Hinata... She couldn't do much. It made her feel so helpless.

She walked over to Izuna and asked him if he could see it.

Izuna bent down to be closer to eye level with her, "See what?"

Hanabi shot a look toward the hallway, "The thing in Hinata!" How could he not sense it?

Izuna frowned, "There's something in your sister?"

"Yes! Can't you see it!"

"No...what does it look like?"

Hanabi opened her mouth but stopped. What did it look like? It was just...chakra... She told him about her Byakugan and about her family. Izuna patiently listened, nodding a few times.

"So you're seeing a strange chakra inside your sister?"

"Yeah! But...it doesn't belong there. It's not...it's not _allowed _to be there!"

Izuna seemed to take a moment to think this over, "Well...is Hinata pregnant?"

"No!"

Izuna leaned back, "Ah? You're so certain?"

Hanabi ground her teeth, this was too frustrating. Why didn't he understand? "That thing is not allowed to be there. It. Isn't. Allowed."

Izuna bit his tongue, feeling that this wasn't going anywhere particularly helpful, "Why not Hanabi-chan?"

Hanabi just shook her head, "Because...it isn't."

Izuna nodded. Hanabi turned and ran off after her sister. He felt bad for her, she was still a kid. She must be so confused. It doesn't help that she's also seeing the chakra inside Hinata.

Izuna turned and reached out, trying to grab Madara's shoulder. His hand gots close and faded away. He sighed and let his arm fall to his side. He knews Madara could see it too.

Madara shivered at the sudden cold shock running up his spine. He glanced behind him, seeing nothing. Like always. He readjusted his amour, forcing out the questions he still hasn't answered. He just wanted to focus on a way out of this world. He tried the hand signs last night...nothing happened.

And now...this thing with Hinata... He'd watched the little exchange between her and Amerante. And now that he thought about it, where the hell were Amerante's servants? The white haired girl and those two men both hadn't shown up yet.

But what truly bothered him was the chakra he'd been sensing. He couldn't see it though and that disturbed him deeply. It felt as if the owner was hiding it from him, but in such a way that they still wanted him to notice.

They were mocking him and it was pissing him off.

He leaned back against the cold wood wall. This was all absolute bullshit in his opinion. How did this even start? Madara closed his eyes, silently berating himself for foolishly staying in the trees while that man had performed the jutsu.

The questions started swirl again. How was he going to get out of here? What is he going to do with those two leaf nin? Why was he young again? That was one question that was just killing him. He felt like he ought to be happy about it but...it was just too damn strange.

Madara shivered again. The small room he was in seemed to be closing in and getting darker. He rubbed his eyes, trying to will a quickly growing migraine away.

When he opened his eyes something wasn't right.

...The door and the hallway was gone...

Madara's sharingan swirled in his eyes. This...this wasn't a genjutsu... He noticed something against the opposite wall. A shadow figure that was just ever so slightly darker than the wall.

"You're beautiful too."

Madara felt his skin crawl.

"What's wrong?"

Madara said nothing. He was trying to see the thing's chakra. But it wasn't there...

"Ah!," the figure's arm moved, now it appeared to have put a hand over it's heart, "Do I scare you?"

It was then that Madara felt his blood boil.

He heard a quiet laugh, "I'm sorry, I should scare you. You may be immortal to others but to me you're as frail as any human."

_Thock. _The figure's head snapped back. Madara let a sick snarl grace his features, "Just who the hell do you think you are?" his fingers found another kunai in his pouch, "Don't mock me. You bleed too," he said with a matter-of-factuality.

The figure made a hurt noise, "I didn't mean to make you angry..." it sounded apologetic, "I want you to love me."

Madara's eyes widened and his snarl wilted into a grimace, "What?"

"I...I know you will once I'm there but...I want you to want me to exist."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

The figure seemed to fidget with the kunai lodged in his eye. Madara heard a wet pop and watched the figure scrunch down. The kunai clattered to the ground and slid to his feet.

Madara watched with curious fascination as the figure did _something _to it's eye. He took a step forward but the room lengthened. He heard an odd crack and the figure stood upright, "I don't like that other woman," it said, changing the topic.

"Who are you?"

Another quiet chuckle, "I don't know yet."

Madara was irritated by the smile he could hear in it's voice.

"What's your name? Are you some kind of tailed beast?"

"Ah, but I don't have a tail."

"What's your name?"

"I don't know yet."

Madara launched another kunai aimed for the other eye but was disappointed when the figure caught it.

"I wish you wouldn't be so upset with me."

"I wish you wouldn't mock me."

"I'm sorry."

"You're pissing me off. Who the hell are you?" Madara was trying to keep his voice level. Despite being certain the thing would neither try to kill nor be able to kill him, he still felt the need to be a little cautious. Though he did just take out it's eye...

"I really don't mean to. I really can't tell you who I am."

The migraine was back and was beating his head in, "And why is that, dear creature?" the pressure behind his eyes was excruciating.

"I don't know yet. I...it's hard to explain...regardless of what I say you won't believe me."

"Try me."

"I don't exist yet."

Madara sighed. This was going nowhere. He decided to try something else, "Well...what should I call you?"

He heard the figure laugh, "Anything! It's up to you!"

The migraine was just getting worse and worse, "Listen, I don't who you are and honestly, I don't care. Release from this jutsu, you do not want me as an enemy."

"Ah. You should care."

Madara rolled his eyes, "What do you want from me?"

"Love me."

"Perhaps my heart's been stolen by someone else, perhaps I don't love anything. Either way, no."

He heard the creature sigh, "You will love me. Once I'm there you won't be able to deny that."

"What are you-"

"And you'll be proud of me. You'll wonder how you could've _ever _hurt me. You'll love Mother too. And she will love me. And..."

As Madara's migraine faded the voice grew more distant. The room lightened considerably and he found himself being shaken by Sakura.

"Madara-sama! Madara-sama! Please wake up! Sasaku-san collapsed!"

Kiba scratched Akamaru's ears, "Geez...what's going on today?"

* * *

Akamaru wrinkled his nose, "Arf!"

Kiba glanced back at Shino, unsurprised to find him making friends with the bugs on the tree he was leaning against. Kiba was worried. Hinata hadn't shown up for training in awhile. Not only that but Kurunai sensei had gone missing too. Or maybe they were on a mission... He didn't know.

He leaned into Akamaru's neck, letting the pleasantly coarse hairs brush his face. He'd been worried when Kurunai had wanted to talk Hinata that day, but now with both of them gone... Even Lady Hokage was still missing...

It didn't help that Shino pointed out how odd some of the others had been acting lately. Or that Sakura was gone. Neji seemed especially upset. Apparently the Hyuuga family couldn't find Hinata's little sister.

Akamaru nuzzled his master's neck, "Arf..."

Kiba said nothing, he just kept scratching Akamaru's ears.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the chap! **

I feel bothered by the suddenly lack of description in the latest chappies...or really since we've entered this other world... I just can't think of what to do with it. I can't find a balance, I mean the beginning chaps were a bit too loaded with it and now these ones don't really have any at all... Any suggestions peeps?

Also it looks like the next chappie will be almost entirely in the world...not the other world but the other one...the first one...I should really name them.. Huh, well, off to write a useless essay and book report that I've been putting off for the entire week.


	11. Entity

Geez...yet another pathetic update... My computer's been giving me a headache lately, and now it seems like my cat is sick.

What a pain...I hope you guys can excuse Shino and Kiba's OOCness. I tried my best but I'm not very familiar with them, my beta did give me a hand though...*dies*

* * *

"I don't know what happened! She just said her stomach hurt! Then...Madara-sama are you listening!" Sakura stamped her foot, it was like he wasn't even looking at her, he was looking _though _her. Didn't he care?

A low growl erupted from his throat and Sakura jumped. He could feel it watching him. She took a step back, wondering if she'd angered him. She didn't think she'd said anything too rude. She watched nervously as Madara's eyes flicked back and forth.

_Is someone here? _Sakura could feel a shiver running up her spine. She couldn't see anyone! But it had to be bad if Madara-sama was upset! She was beginning to to feel useless again...like when Hinata's little sister... she swallowed. It must not be too bad since Madara-sama wasn't saying anything. Maybe he was just upset he couldn't help that little girl.

Sakura nodded to herself. That was it. He was upset with himself. That made sense. Looking up she noticed Madara was no longer there. She turned and caught sight of his back as he went down the hall. With a sigh she decided Hinata would be alright. Madara-sama would heal her and it would be fine. It was all just stress anyway, right?

She went to follow him but stopped. Something was off...something was...

Her eyes widened suddenly, "What- when did it get so dark?"

She heard a shallow breathing behind her, "You're such a nuisance."

She shook her head and it was gone. Looking behind herself she saw nothing. She was shaking slightly. Without giving it much thought she sprinted down the hall.

* * *

Kiba was getting antsy. And not just because Shino had dropped some ants on him earlier. He noticed one and flicked it off, ignoring the death glare he could feel burning into his back. He stood up and stretched, squinting in the bright sunlight.

"Doesn't it bother you?" he said turning, "Everything's gone weird...and where the hell is Hinata?"

Shino bent down and after a second of sifting though dirt he picked up a beetle. He ran his finger gently over the back of the smooth black wing casing, "We still don't know what Kurunai's final decision was."

Kiba snorted, "Uh huh...what else is new? We don't even know where Kurunai went."

Shino watched the little insect nibble the tip of finger with its tiny mandibles, " Besides those two, where's the Lady Hokage?"

"Tanzaku Town maybe? She could be in any number of those little gambling villages."

"I've heard Asuma-sensei already checked it out. She wasn't there," the beetle gave buzz and flew off toward the trees.

"You know what?"

"Hm?"

"Everyone who is here has gone back to normal."

"Normal?"

"Don't tell me you didn't notice. But for the past few days, no one's been acting like themselves. I mean, didn't you see Naruto? That sure wasn't our regular idiot. Or a few days ago I ran into Sakura. Total bitch for no reason."

"Maybe she'd had a bad day? The Hokage's been putting a lot of stress on her lately."

"No, that's not it...I ran into Ino too. She'd been bawling her eyes out. Apparently Sakura said something. I know those two fight and all, but I've never seen it get to the point of tears unless Sasuke had been involved."

"That might have been it too. You know how Sakura is about Sasuke's departure Naruto too. You know, it might have been because of what happened in the forest. Did Sai tell you?"

"I don't talk that guy, he's creepy."

"Well, regardless, they'd gone to go train in the forest and they found this little girl there and apparently they couldn't help her."

"I don't get it. What was wrong with her? Was she stuck in a tree or something?"

"I'm not sure. He was being very vague. He did say Sakura and Naruto didn't take it very well."

"Eh...I don't know...I'm just worried about Hinata right now. Let's go over to her house and see where she's been. Maybe I'm just being paranoid but..."

"No, I agree. It would be good to check up on her. You know that what Kuranai-sensei had to say wasn't pleasant."

Akamaru lifted his head up and sniffed the air. Kiba turned and put a hand on the dog's head, "What's wrong?"

Akamaru's nose twitched, the hackles on his neck and rear bristled. Kiba sniffed the air too, then frowned.

Shino could feel his insects on him, scurrying up and down his body in panic.

Kiba growled, "What it is? Akamaru?"

"Something is wrong." Shino stated quietly, "Even my insects are reacting to it as well."

"But what the hell is it? I can't smell anything!"

Akamaru turned toward Shino and barked. Shino moved toward Kiba but the dog kept barking at where he'd had been. He could feel his bugs on his skin, all of them moving about restlessly.

Neither of them could sense anything, let alone see. Finally after a long minute Akamaru stopped barking and Shino's bugs settled down.

"...Shino...did you...?"

"Hn?"

"Did you feel that...? Just now..."

"..."

"It felt like something...something was..."

"Scrutinizing us?"

* * *

Feels like everyone's lost interest in this story...even me... Or maybe I have yet to recover from my finals? Well I hope you enjoyed that chap...I'm so tired right now...night peeps...or morning...depends on when you read this I guess...*re-dies*


	12. Worry

I suck at quotas so badly...I'd say this chappie's short because my throat's been killing me for awhile, but that would a stupid excuse since that doesn't effect my fingers in the least. I feel like I need to go back and merge a bunch of the chappies together...so instead of this little things there'd one or two proper chappies. On the other hand, at least I'm not as tired as when I was posting last time!

* * *

Kiba and Shino left the training grounds shortly after that incident. They were both getting worried about Hinata. Kiba had suggested they check her house.

Akamaru sniffed around the porch, pausing here and there before moving on. Shino had tried knocking a few times but knew Hinata wouldn't answer.

Kiba was getting inpatient, "Damn it! There's nothing here! Just her scent!"

Akamaru cast a glance at his master and whimpered. Kiba just sighed, trying to suppress the growl rising in his throat.

Shino slid open the door, "I doubt she is in here but perhaps we can find out where she went?"

Kiba pushed passed him, "Yeah, she'd have to pack some clothes if she'd left or..."

He stopped, a jolt running through his body. Akamaru ran ahead of him and sniffed the discarded clothes lying on the floor. Kiba's nose twitched. He had smelled this earlier, the dank coppery scent of blood. He hadn't been worried then, it wasn't uncommon for ninjas to have their clothes ruined with blood before but...

He heard Shino beside him, "Is that-"

"It's not hers...It's not hers..." Kiba felt sick. The clothes were the ones that Hinata usually wore...they were soaked through with blood. None of it was hers and Kiba could tell it wasn't all from one person either.

Shino stared at the heap before them, the blood faded red-brown, dried and crusty.

He turned to Kiba, "Can you tell-"

"So many..." he cut him off again, "Oh kami there's so many scents! What the hell happened? Was Hinata in some kind of massacre!" Kiba's voice increased in volume, lilting up as he was consumed with worry.

Shino put a firm hand on his shoulder, "Look. Akamaru found something."

Akamaru had left the bloodied clothes behind. Now he was sniffing Hinata's headband. After a minute he left it and started nudge one of the ornamental screens that had placed against a wall. Kiba went to grab him when he knocked it over.

All of them stopped. In the rice paper wall covering was a huge hole. Kiba's eyes narrowed and stepped forward.

"What is it?" Shino asked quietly.

"I...damn, there's a set of stairs back there...I don't hear anyone though..."

Shino nodded, "I'll keep looking around up here. Though there isn't much."

Kiba hadn't heard him, he was already feeling his way down the darkened steps. Akamaru stood outside the hole, whimpering. Shino headed toward the kitchen area against the wall.

Akamaru started growling again. Shino felt his insects scurrying again, their tiny legs gripping his skin, sending a slight shiver through him.

Then he noticed it. A person standing beside him. He turned quickly, a kunai flashing in his hand.

But then he stopped and stood rigidly in place.

An eerie familiar face, sickly pale skin, and ink black hair spilling down his shoulders.

Thin lips frowned, "You shouldn't be messing with Mother's things."

* * *

I hope that chappie was a little enjoyable!

I still feel like I've lost interest in this story...like I'm no longer doing it just because I can but because of this stupid feeling of obligation that's not even to you peeps but to this stupid thought inside myself that if I don't finish it I'll never be able finish any of my stories. I don't want that to be true.

Also for some reason it seems I do a better job on these shorter chappies because I'm not worried about length. Still...these things are pathetically short... Also also...names...this new person needs a name and have one in mind but it sounds kinda stupid to me...help?


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